


Remembered Dreams: Part 1

by Wolfs_Ayame



Series: Remembered Dreams [1]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Falling In Love, Historical References, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Mentions of WWII, Mentions of past abuse, No Spoilers, Not Canon Compliant yet, Past Memories, Reincarnation AU, Smut in future chapters, Soulmates, Three part series, bitter sweet endings, its banana fish, mild period typical homophobia, mostly historically acurate, people die, under age drinking, very mild racial slurs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-08-03 09:54:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16324010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfs_Ayame/pseuds/Wolfs_Ayame
Summary: It's 1943, in Manzanar, California.The United states had entered into World War two, on both the European and Pacific theaters, and those of Japanese descent have been required to drop their lives and move to internment camps for the time being.Among the chaos of war, more than one life will change as two souls reunite. Past lives will be remembered and a journey will be taken. Manzanar is just the first stepping stone of a battle for happiness for two boys who's lives will forever be entwined.---------Loosely based on the young adult novel "Summer of my German Soldier" written by Bette GreeneUpdates every other  Week on Tuesday or Wednesday's





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!  
> I have been sitting on this story for about two months at this point trying to get things written and researched! I plan on posting updates twice a month, every other Wednesday or Thursday. 
> 
> I will not pretend to be a expert on Manzanar, but I did research the hell out of things, so please take that in to consideration. That being said, I am taking SOME artistic licensing with a few things, but I do hope that you enjoy this incredible story I have written up for you. 
> 
> Thank you to my amazing group of beta's: Topcatnikki, Sachiro, Pariphrasis, and Rena! You guys have been amazing for putting up with me!

****

 

**June 1943**

 

It’s hot. So fucking hot.

Ash was seriously reconsidering his life choices that lead up to this moment. His shirt felt sticky against his skin, and the dirt in the air made the back of his neck feel like damp sandpaper: gritty, sweaty and uncomfortable. Hell, there was not even a nice breeze to help break up the stagnated oxygen as it burned his lungs.

Then again, when you live in the middle of a shithole made of dry sand and unlimited amounts of scorpions, you can’t expect much in the way of cool weather in June. Why did Griff have to get sent to this dust bowl?

It had to be pushing 90 degrees already; it wasn’t even 10 in the morning and the thought of how hot it would end up by the end of the day made his stomach turn queasy. Of all the places in the world that his brother could have been stationed, he had to get sent here: a withered and dried wasteland of nothing called Manzanar in California.

This place was the exact polar opposite of Cape Cod; no cool sea breeze, no sweet salty air and no decent seafood. The land was varying shades of brown and gray; no tall green trees to cast perfect shade spots over thick patches of beach grass, and, most certainly, no rain to dampen the dusty ground and leave that sweet summer rain smell behind.

Fuck the US army and this fucking war. If there was hell on earth, this had to be it, at least in comparison to Massachusetts. Though, it beat having to dodge his father’s drunk flying fists or disgusting grimy hands of the slime balls at the bar. Even if he didn’t act like it, he was grateful for his new life here with his brother.

As a bead of sweat dripped down the back of his neck, Ash shoved his hands further into the pockets of his jeans, grumbling under his breath when he kicked at a rock with the toe of his shoe. A puff of dust kicked up as he walked down the stretch of road from the barrack he and his brother lived in, hoping that the cap that shielded his eyes from the blistering sun also gave the hint to leave him the fuck alone.

If they lived on the shores of the California coast, he would fit right in with his shaggy blond hair and skin kissed by the sun. Almost a perfect picture of a beach bound teen, wanting to dive into the surf or bury his toes in the sand while he admired the view of the waves and people in their own worlds.

Unfortunately, he lived hundreds of miles from the nearest waves; landlocked in a valley between the Sierra Nevada Mountains that was nothing more than broiling heat and tumble weeds that had a life of their own. (He was pretty sure they were planning their own hostile takeover of the U.S.) If the scorpions didn’t already piss him off enough, the afternoon game of “dodge the tumbleweed” did the trick.

Lost in his own world, he made his way mindlessly down the dirt lined road, avoiding as much contact with the other people who milled about. He was wondering if anything exciting might be happening outside of this little circle of hell, what was really going on in the world, when the sound of a familiar voice rang out from up ahead.

“Ash! Where you headed, man?!” A young Chinese man came jogging up beside him, eyes hidden behind a pair of dark shades and a mop of…

“How the fuck did you get your hair purple, Shorter?” he asked, with all the affection he could muster, which was not much at that point in time.

Shorter beamed at his younger friend, hands patting the top of his head. It had once been a military style buzz cut, but he had let the top of it grow out, and it was now, apparently, purple.

“Super-secret Chinese mystery herbs.” he said in his worst-accented English possible, “You headed up to see Griff?”

“Yeah, it’s super secret U.S military grade mystery meat at the com today. Griff wants real food.”

“Ahh, yes, I was wondering why there was such a run at the shop today.” Shorter opened the door to his family’s market, and the scent of rich Chinese spices and food wafted through the air, assaulting Ash’s senses by way of making his stomach growl.

“I need to take him something to get him through the rest of the day. What’s on the menu?” he asked before he added, “that your mom cooked.”

Shorter reached out and swatted Ash on the shoulder. “Fuck you man, you know I’m the future of this place!”

“SHORTER WONG!” A high pitched voice screamed out from the back room, “Don’t you dare use those words!”  Shorter’s mom, a short and squat Chinese woman in her 50’s, stepped out into the store from wherever she had been hiding, brandishing a wooden spoon threateningly in one hand, and a sack of food in the other.

“Ahh...Ash, you take this food up for your brother, right?” she asked, her tone of voice much sweeter than what she used towards her own son.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wong,” he said politely, as he took the bag in hand. There was a slight pause, as his eyes wandered over the shelves of merchandise, wondering if he should pick anything else up. But, that moment was quickly interrupted by the sound of the wooden spoon connecting with the back of Shorters head, and the angry litany of Mandarin in a tone of voice that only a frustrated parent could develop.

Ash looked to his friend, not an ounce of sympathy for him, as Mrs. Wong continued to berate him, for god only knows what reason this time, with a few accentuated smacks of her spoon.

“See you later, Shorter!” Ash called out with a smirk, having heard his best friend shriek following a loud thump. He deserved every bit of it; sometimes Ash really did feel for the guy’s mom, having to put up with some of Shorter’s more out-of-the-box ideas, though it was always Shorter’s fault, and never Ash’s. Apparently Mrs. Wong felt he was the more well behaved of the two.

Ash grimaced before he even stepped back outside. The change in air hit him like a ton of bricks as he went from cooler, clean oxygen of the market, back into the broiling heat. He found himself asking for the daily hurricane-force winds to start picking up soon just to break up some of the staleness.

The high desert did have its own variation of beauty, even with the monochrome color palette. Ash could appreciate the scenery, even find calm in the short walk from the military-style compound of those who worked here to the main gates of the Relocation Center. There was a calming presence in the tan and brown tones of the landscape and the skyline of the mountains that surrounded them. Sunsets were especially spectacular, with Mount Whitney looming in the distance, and the tree lines lighting up like fire as the sun disappeared. He just wished it wasn’t so goddamn hot and dusty.

Honestly, he loved taking walks alone around the camp. It was a good way for him to clear his mind and process the world around him, especially when school was still in session. Some days he would take a book with him in the early mornings and disappear for hours with nothing extra but a canteen of water and sometimes a snack. He would settle himself against some rocks and get lost in the pages, escaping his own world for a while.

Griff had made a deal, when they left from the Cape a few years ago, that Ash would have to finish school, that his brain was far too useful to let go to waste in the back alleys of Boston or New York. He would use his connections if he had to, call in some favors to get Ash into a university and keep him off of the battlefields.

Ash knew that he was ready to walk down a painful path. When he tried to run away the first time at 12, his goal was to follow Griff to basic. He was angry. So fucking angry that his brother was leaving him behind to face the wrath of their father alone. Griffin had abandoned him, and Ash didn’t know if he would ever come back, even though his brother wrote him constantly. The stack of letters were still back at the Cape, hidden in a desk drawer where their father would never find them.

The beating he had been greeted with when the cops had dragged him back home left him black and blue for weeks. His ribs had probably been broken, and he was sure that his right shoulder would never be the same. But he survived. He survived for another two years on the promise that his brother would come back for him and take him away from the hell he lived in.

Griffin never broke his word. He came back, and a 14-year-old Ash would never forget how it felt to sit in the cab of that truck and watch the place he hated disappear behind him. He felt free! Though the rules Griff laid down on their way to California were not the most pleasant, he agreed to them just to get away. It was, however possible that he may or may not have broken the one regarding booze once or twice, but he blamed Shorter. (When in doubt, always blame Shorter.)

As the main gates came into view, Ash was broken from his thoughts, his fingers tightening on the bag.

The Manzanar War Relocation Center was a formidable size. Ash had always wondered how many people lived here; rows and rows of shabby, swiftly-built barracks lined up behind the chain link and barbed wire fences, but he was fairly certain it was in the thousands. And more arrived each day.

Power poles towered along the dirt roads and a total of 8 guard towers loomed overhead, keeping a diligent eye out for… well, Ash really wasn’t sure what. From what he had learned of the Japanese culture, they were a calm and passive society, and those who were housed here were second-and even third-generation Japanese-Americans.

It amazed him, though, how they had tried to form some bit of normalcy in to this cramped and dusty camp.  It really was like its own little city here, completely isolated from the world, self-contained. The people here grew food, had schools and churches, played sports and tried to have some semblance of a regular life even behind the fences of this fucking depressing excuse for a home. He always wondered what their lives had been like before, but had been too nervous to really ask, and honestly, he was afraid to know the truth.

As he got closer to the check point, he nodded to a few of the other officers that knew him. He was a familiar face with as often as he would come to this part of the camp and visit. Hell, he was able to go pretty much wherever he wanted without much trouble.

Stepping up to the guard post at the gates, he held up the bag.

“Here for Griff,” He said flatly, his voice a bit raw from the dusty air.

He was waved through with a nod.

His shoes thudded against the porch of the intake building, where new arrivals were processed, and he noticed three yellow school busses full of people that must have just gotten there not long before he had. Griff was hard to miss; he stood tall with his blond hair cut high and tight. The guy he was talking to must have been new. Ash did not recognize him, and it looked like they were discussing the check in procedures.

“Aslan!” His brother called out, once he caught sight of him, “Give me ten minutes to get this check in going and I’ll be ready!”

Ash rolled his eyes, Griff was one of the only people on this earth who could get away with calling him by his first name, and Griffin knew it annoyed the hell out of his little brother. With a nod, Ash leaned back against the wall of the building and enjoyed a few minutes in the shade. The wind was starting to pick up now, stirring more dirt and sand into the air, which brought its own form of personal hell, but at least the heat wouldn’t be as searingly unbearable.

He glanced at the line of people starting to exit the first bus and shook his head. It had to be hard to be forced from your home, told you would be leaving everything you had built in your lives and moved to a barren ugly military compound, surrounded by miles and miles of nothing. It made his heart ache a little to think about.

Sure, they could pretend it wasn’t as bad with their gardens, enjoy the small waterfall that trickled into a stream in the main yard. He had even seen some of the people here doing some sort of slow martial arts at one point. They were so smooth; with each fluid movement from one stance to the next, it really did look peaceful, and he found himself calmed by even just watching the small group.

But this wasn’t a real life. For anyone here. This was a pretend camp, holding people hostage for no other reason than their heritage, and that rubbed Ash in all the wrong ways. What made Shorter so much better because he was Chinese? What made him and Griffin so perfect, with their blue eyes and blond hair? How were these people, with their dark eyes and even darker hair, any different or less American than the rest of them?

Ash was broken out of his reverie as his brother came jogging up to him, a large hand landing on the top of his hat.

“What did ya bring me?” Griffin asked, glancing down to the bag in Ash’s hand.

“I have no idea, but it sounds like Mrs. Wong made a ton of it and it made most of its way here,” he said.

Ash lifted his gaze and shifted his shoulders ever so slightly as he turned his eyes to the busses. A feeling of electricity ran over his entire body, and he felt his stomach lurch when he met the eyes of one of the figures getting checked in.

He was plain, yet, in his own way, beautiful. Black hair falling into the dark eyes that were now locked on to Ash’s. Young, he looked young, but something, there was something about him that cut through Ash like a blade. Like a part of his soul was ripped open. It was a shock to his system, a jolt of something sharp, that tingled like he had touched an electric fence.

The energy sizzled and cracked over his skin, and he felt his heart quicken. Ash tried to suck in a breath but found himself shakingly drawing it between his teeth; he was completely unable to look away from the person who was looking back, and Ash wondered if he was feeling this sensation, too. It was like lightning struck and froze the both of them; both captured in this intense moment that only they shared.

It must have really only been seconds, and not the hours it felt like, when he realized his brother was waving a hand in front of his face trying to break him out of his stupor.

“...Sh...Ash...ASLAN!” Griff barked.

Ash was startled free of the moment, and he was finally able to break the gaze with the other man and look to his brother for a split second.

There was a sudden thump, the bag having fallen from his hand, though he didn’t remember the moment it slipped from his grasp. It felt like his heart had stopped, and the world had come to a stand-still without warning. There was burst of pain as his chest deflated, the air in his lungs seemingly punched out harshly, and he could feel the sting of tears in the corner of his eyes.

Griffin reached forward and planted his hand on Ash’s shoulder, a look of concern on his face. “Are you ok? Ash...Hey, what’s going on?”

“I...I don’t know?” Ash was in a state of shock, and he was not sure why, but it felt like his skull was being split open suddenly. Cracking like an egg on a rock.

The last thing he remembered was looking up at Griffin’s face from the wooden slats of the deck they stood on, and hearing Griff yelling for help.

  
  
\---------

_“Ash... Next time... next time will be different. I promise.”_

_He could see tears streaming from amber eyes, reflecting back the pain that Ash could feel in his chest. It burned, oh god it burned like a... like a gunshot?_

_“I love you... E... Ei….”_

\--------

Waking with a start, Ash sat straight up in the hospital bed he had, apparently, been asleep on.

“Fucking hell!” He hissed, his hand grasping at the center of his chest and finding only a sweat soaked T-shirt. It still felt like fire was burning through his sternum and lungs, straight through to his spine; if this was what it felt like to be shot, fuck, he would gladly harvest all the pumpkins this year in the camp garden to avoid it.

Tears were rolling down his face in rivers, leaving behind salty trails that dripped from his chin, landing with a plip on the sheet. He didn’t understand why he was crying; yeah the pain in his chest was intense, but it wasn’t that, this was almost like his soul was being torn in half.

Running a hand through his hair Ash felt something strange tugging at his arm; he had been hooked up to an IV with a bag of fluids hanging, dripping slowly into the clear tubing and through the small needle under the skin in the crook of his elbow. Why had he passed out? What in the living hell was going on?

Blinking, he cleared away the remaining fog from his vision. Hearing the sound of Griff’s voice as he spoke to a doctor, half listening, he swept his gaze around the room. This place was the camp hospital, so the room was large, and shared 4 other empty beds, five including his. But there was a sixth which was occupied by the guy from the camp.

He felt a rush of panic when a spike of adrenaline flooded into him.

“What. The. Fuck,” he hissed as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He didn’t get far.

Numbly, his limbs refusing to cooperate, his bare feet smacked to the cold sterile floor.  They didn’t do more than shake. Ash’s vision started blurring as the pain came back full force. It was blinding, slamming like a freight truck into his head again, screaming through his brain and bringing with it a wave of nausea.

Again, his heart rate started spiking. The sudden hammering pushed the air violently from his lungs in a sickening gasp. Each beat felt like it would go right through his chest wall, break through the muscle and bone at the thud against his ribs. Panic was starting to build, his breathing becoming more labored, almost unable to take in more than short quick breaths.

Fuck. The pain in his head was nothing like he could remember ever experiencing before, even his dad’s fists had not hurt like this. The accompanying crackle of electricity was incredibly uncomfortable as well, not as sharp as before, but still enough that it stung like tiny pin pricks across his skin.

Fear coursed through him as he made a valiant attempt at calming his breathing down, trying to control the onslaught of pain through each shaky breath he was trying to take. Ash’s mind kept screaming. He needed to get up, get out, get away from this...whatever this was!

The panic was racing through him now as he tried standing again. Ash instantly realized this was an incredibly bad idea. The world spinning around him, the white walls and white curtains too bright, the smell of the cleaners making him want to puke.

Losing his balance he tried reaching out to grab the IV stand in hope of giving himself some support, but it backfired, epically. Everything started crashing down around him and he let out a strangled cry, landing in a rumpled pile on the floor. The cart that had been next to his bed and the IV hanger came down clattering loudly around him, alerting the medical staff and his brother of his actions.

It was too much. Too much pain in his head, too much fear in his body, just all too much to handle, so he closed his eyes, trying to block it all out.

\--------

 

_“I see you.” Eiji whispered softly, the ghost of a warm breath across the shell of Ash’s ear._

_“I see you…” Ash replied softly, gently pressing their mouths together._

_It was all-encompassing. Not a mashing of tongue and teeth, but a kiss that felt like it could change the world, or at least, their world. It burned hotter than the sun, and it left fire spreading across his skin even though he shivered against Eiji’s body. He swore he could feel Eiji shudder softly against him in return, his hands tangling in the thick dark hair, pulling Eiji impossibly closer._

_It was the kind of kiss that great poets wrote about, deep and so full of passion, more intimate than even the joining of bodies. He never wanted this feeling to end._

_When they broke apart, they were panting for air, foreheads bumping together as if they were afraid to be more than a few centimeters apart. Eiji, sitting in Ash’s lap, had wrapped his legs around Ash’s middle, his fingers toying with the wisps of blond hair at the back of Ash’s neck._

_Ash clung to him, afraid this moment would be their last._

_“Stay with me, even if it’s just for now, stay with me…” Ash whispered against Eiji’s lips._

_“Forever,” was the reply from Eiji, their lips meeting once more in a bruising kiss._

\-------

“...Lan….Aslan...Hey...wake up.”

Griff’s voice broke through the strange clouds of his dream. The pain was dulling in his head, but still very much there, Ash groaned, trying his best to ignore it. Willing his eyes open he was met with the familiar face of his brother looking down, concern and worry making him look years older than he was.

Moaning as a fresh wave of nausea, Ash tried in vain to give more than a “Hah?” to his brother before he felt his guts quivering.

His stomach lurching, Ash turned and emptied the remaining contents into a basin that had been placed at the side of his bed earlier. As his guts continued their revolt, he could feel his brother rubbing small circles on his back, trying his best to be soothing.

Once he was done, Ash tried breathing a few calming breaths before rolling over on his back, looking to his brother for answers.

“What...what happened to me?” His voice was raw, mouth tasting of bile.

Sighing, Griff shrugged his shoulders, “the doctor thinks you might have gotten dehydrated or something. One minute you were fine, rolling your eyes at me, and the next you turned pale as a ghost, which in itself is an accomplishment considering how damn white you already are, and then passed out on the deck.”

Ash couldn’t hide the look of confusion as he tried thinking back to what he had done the past couple days. Nothing was making sense. He knew how to take care of himself and he was sure he had done nothing out of the ordinary.

Turning his head he looked around the room. The other beds were all empty now and it was just Ash and Griff. How long had he been out?

Griffin must have been reading his brother’s mind, “you have been here since yesterday morning. The doctor said you should be able to return to the apartment this evening if you can stand without falling over this time.”

“What about the other guy? I remember the Japanese guy being in here too, what happened to him?” Ash asked, a mixture of concern and embarrassment as scenes from his dream returned.

Griff gave his brother a strange smile, handing Ash a cup of water to try to cleanse his mouth with. “They said it was stress and dehydration. He had been on the bus from San Fran, and are pretty sure he hadn’t eaten on top of everything else. Though he did ask about you, strange kid.”

Sitting up in the bed, Ash took a couple of small swallows, the water burning slightly down his windpipe. This was all too strange, everything was a jumble in his brain. Maybe, once he was feeling better he could go and find the guy. It was like he felt a strange draw to him, like some sort of string tugging at him. It was going to nag at him till he followed through, he knew it.

“Get some more rest, I give you permission to be a lazy ass this time. If all goes well, I will be back after my shift ends at 9 to take you home. Shorter already agreed to come stay with us for a few days to get you back on your feet.” Griff explained as he stood.

Groaning, Ash covered his face, “No… anything but Shorter’s cooking! He will burn down our part of the barracks!”  Whining like a petulant 5 year old, he looked up at his brother, almost pleading, “at least leave me with some canned goods and shitty MRE! He almost killed me the last time we went camping!”

Griffin burst out laughing, “Yeah… I’m sure his mother will be sending deliveries to you two, even she knows there is no hope for that poor boy!”

Letting out a whimper, he covered his face again, pouting as Griff patted his head softy. When he looked up at his brother he could see that he must not have slept well, but the lines of worry were relaxing at seeing Ash acting a bit more normal.

“Alright little brother, I’ll be back later. Don’t give the nurses too much hell please.”

“Yeah yeah…” Ash waved his brother his head, “see you tonight.”

Watching Griffin leave, Ash let out a sigh, his brows furrowing in thought as he gripped the sheets that were loosely tangled around him. His head was starting to hurt again, but he was a little worried about falling back to sleep, considering the dream he had just woken up from.

“What is going on?” He whispered to himself.

That was a dream right? Why was he dreaming about a total stranger, like -that-, and why had it made him feel... why did it make his heart race and his chest start hurting in ways he had never experienced?

Falling back to the mattress, Ash draped the back of his forearm over his face.

None of this was making a lick of sense. With his head starting to hurt again, he was more than willing to take the pill a had nurse brought, swallowing it down with a quick drink of water. Ash relaxed and let himself drift back off to sleep for a few more hours, trying to ignore the confusion and uncertainty that he felt.

He could deal with this shit later, first he needed to get out of this terrible excuse for a bed.

\--------

Not that his bed was much better, but it was his, and didn’t smell like hospital.

When Griff had arrived to take him home, Ash had been awake for a couple of hours, his head finally not feeling like it would split open like a gourd every time he sat up. At least  there was no strange dreams, no kissing the other guy like his life was depending on it.

Trying as he may, he was unable to push the strange thoughts from his mind; the dream sequences just continued niggling at his brain. Thank goodness, his best distraction was waiting for him the apartment.

“Yo Ash! What the hell man?” A bright flock of purple hair and signature goofy grin greeted Ash as his brother helped him through the door.

Weakly, Ash replied, “hey Shorter.”

Helping him across the room, Griffin deposited his brother on their couch and set down two small prescription bottles on the coffee table, “Shorter, he is supposed to take one for the headaches if they start getting persistent, the other is for his nausea,” Griff paused and looked back to his brother. “The doctor wants you to push fluids and you are to rest as much as possible, so Shorter is going to be staying with us for a bit. The doctor wants you to be supervised in case you have any more fainting spells. We don’t need you to have anymore brain damage than you already got!” Griff teased, winking at the impressive scowl Ash aimed at him.

Ash, shifting his glare to Shorter smirked, “That means you better not try to kill me with your cooking man, my delicate body might reject anything that is not your mom’s food.”

Shorter, trying to look as offended as possible, threw a pillow at his friend in retaliation, “Mom already sent a few days worth of provisions, don’t worry, your ‘delicate’ body is in good hands!”

Griffin burst out in a full belly laugh at the look on Shorter’s face when the dawning realization of what he said hit, and Ash wasn’t far behind. Both of them were laughing so hard that tears began to form in their eyes as Shorter stood there dumb struck.

Shorter’s cheeks were dusting pink, stammering, “dude! I swear, that’s not what I meant!”

Ash grabbed the pillow that Shorter had already swatted him with and swung back, hitting him square in the face, “oh my god, Shorter! Shorter, the look on your face!” He couldn’t help laughing at his friend, and as he calmed down, exhaustion was gripping his body.

“Ok, ok, I think I am going to bed,” Ash spoke breathlessly, a smile tugging tiredly at his lip, “You two idiots can keep yourself entertained. My head is starting to hurt again and I want to sleep in my own pathetic excuse for a bed.”

Standing, Ash wobbled a bit before his brother stepped forward to help, offering a steady hand. Waving him off, Ash gave him a crooked smile, “I’m ok. Just tired.”

Griffin nodded and let him go, “if it gets bad, you can take one of the pills they gave you.”

Waving back at them, Ash disappeared into the bedroom he shared with his brother. He could hear him and Shorter talking as the door was shut, Griffin laying down the ground rules for the other boy.

Pressing his back against the door, the back of his head landing with a light thump, Ash let out a deep sigh. He was starting to feel the ache in his temple again, but he didn’t want to get dependant on the pills the doctor gave him; right now, he just wanted to be sleeping. His thoughts kept wandering back to the man in his dreams though, and, navigating across the room to his own mattress, he couldn’t help the feeling that was blossoming in his chest at the memories.

Memories? Maybe this would all make sense once they talked, right now though, closing his eyes sounded like the best idea.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash decides he needs to return to the camp and find this other person, hopefully to figure out what in the world is going on. With Griffin's help, and Shorter's...something....Ash heads back to Manzanar on a seemingly impossible search.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!! It's a day early! Happy early Halloween, so this is your treat for the week! 
> 
> I need to come out and say this ahead of time. I will be calling Ash "a queer" in this story, which is period typical slang for a gay man. It is not being used in a negative way, but I didn't want there to be any questions as to why I chose that word. I am just not comfortable with the use of F**ot at all, even though that word was also used, but was more negative in its meaning. 
> 
> The story is still pretty innocent for the most part at this point, so I really hope you are enjoying it!
> 
> Chapter 4 is finished so I have started chapter 5. Things are coming along very well, and I still have NO idea how long this monster will end up being. I hope you are along for a long, fun ride!

* * *

 

**London 1896, October**

_He was soaking wet and it felt like it was down to the bone._

_The rain was seemingly unending, having not stopped for the last three days, and Ash was done. So done. It wouldn’t be half as bad if it wasn’t for the freezing October breeze as it came rolling in off the Thames. The wool he wore was doing nothing for him and it felt like his boots were holding a small lake inside of them, and with his hair a sopping mess he looked like a drowned rat._

_All he was wanting to do was to get home and get into some dryer clothing and warm up by the stove. His body ached, muscles tender from loading and unloading goods off the ships at the docks. It didn’t pay enough, but such was the plight of the Irish in London. Working shit jobs for shit pay._

_Ash, shoving his hands in his pockets, let out a groan as a heavy breeze kicked up, wrapping its icy arms around him in a terribly freezing hug. He hated going back to his father’s tavern, but he at least had warm clothing and probably a hearty stew to fill his stomach waiting there. It just meant he would have to be stealthy in avoiding certain patrons, and his father._

_Right now, he needed to focus on nursing Griffin back to some semblance of health. The doctor had given strict instructions for his brother’s treatment, including keeping him hydrated. That meant forcing him to drink strange mixtures of boiled water with either sugar or salt in them, and making sure he ate as blandy as possible._

_That meant rice and potatoes._

_Lots and lots of rice and potatoes. Porridges, boiled, steamed rice made into cakes, gruels and mashes. It was so much that they had managed to go through their entire stock of rice alone, in the last week. Ash was heading to the market on his way home to pick up a bag, it was blasphemous to even think they could even be close to needing to buy potatoes._

_His trip inside the market was quick. Ash waved at the shopkeeper and stepped out into the cold air once again with the 20 lb sack resting on his shoulder. If he took the back alleys it would be a short walk home from here, avoiding the bustling main thoroughfares. He was thankful, honestly, that they were not living in the slums, where the brothels were housed and many of the thieves and murderers spent their days._

_Knowing that things could be worse than they already were, Ash disappeared down an alleyway, and tallied how much of his pay was left. He was no stranger to having to hustle to make ends meat, and he realized he was going to have to take on the persona that he despised. A cutpurse and, sadly, a very good one at that._

_Turning down the last alleyway before he would be at the taverns back door, Ash came to a dead stop._

_Two men were standing in front of him, blocking further progress. The bag on his shoulder was heavy, and he could feel the numbness tingling in his cold hands, seriously he just wanted to be home. Turning on his heel he was just a few yards from another man who was blocking his ability to go back the way he came._

_“Shite, really?” He asked to no one in particular, finding this more annoying than dangerous._

_“Pay up boy-o,” the blond man blocking his path said, “you got caught on my turf you fucking bloody cunt, I want what is due to me.”_

_Ash, shaking his head, set down the now damp bag of rice on a box, hoping it wouldn’t get ruined._

_“The fuck I will.” Ash replied, his hand lifting to trying to clear the rain from his eyes so he could actually see who was threatening him._

_He was taken by surprised as the other two came up, one on each side, grasping Ash’s arms, essentially keeping him from being able to struggle or make a move._

_Ash’s heart was in his throat. Were his reflexes really that dulled today? He should have noticed the other two coming up behind him; he was regretting his sleep deprived and overworked brain. Resisting them at this point would only end up in him getting hurt worse so he was hoping he could just buy them off. They were just after money, right?_

_“Fucking coward and cheat! Just take the money! There isn’t much there.” Ash tried explaining._

_“Oh, you bet we will son, but after we leave you with something to think about.”_

_Without warning the blurry figure in front of him laid a full force sucker punch to his gut, causing Ash to buckle, all the air rushing from his lungs in one loud groan. He was trying to keep his body relaxed, not tensing, so he would hopefully not break anything, he was overpowered and outmanned._

_Ash felt hands on his shoulders, and that’s when the final blow came in the form of a knee cap colliding with his forehead. Pain exploded from the point of impact, feeling like his brain was being rattled in his skull._

_The men who held him were laughing as they dropped him to the wet ground. Their boots made sickening noises as they landed a few parting kicks to his ribs before they groped his pants for his coin bag and cut the strings._

_Fucking great, now he would have blood that would be needing to be washed out._

_“Thanks again. And if I ever see that pretty face of yours on my turf again, I will kill you.” Ash heard the splash of water as they threw the empty purse next to him on the ground._

_Groaning, he laid there curling into a ball, but instead of boots retreating, he felt an explosion of pain at the back of his head and heard himself crying out, a hearty kick landing at the base of his skull._

_Everything went black._

 

* * *

 

**June 1943**

 

Ash sat up in a panic, gasping for air as he let out a choked scream. He was shivering violently; still feeling the chill rain soaking through to his skin. Wave after wave of pain over took his waking body, coursing through him like fire. His abdomen and chest were throbbing relentlessly; sharp, like his lungs were being wrapped in barbed wire.

Logically, he knew that it was impossible for his ribs to be broken, his mattress was on the floor! But the pain that was wracking him was reminiscent of when Ash’s father had broken 3 of them for him as a kid. Plus, the back of his skull felt like it had collided with the pavement a few times, while he was starting to fight off a new round of nausea as his ear rang.

Ash was clutching at his shirt, the panic gripping like a vice on his body, fighting to gain his bearings as consciousness returned slowly. The smell was no longer of horse shit and soot, there was no rain splashing down or cold wind biting at his skin. The air was dry, the scent of the apartment was familiar and it was slowly registering to him that he was very much still in his own reality.

“H-hey Ash,” Shorter was reaching for him, carefully, not wanting to get decked first thing in the morning, “I think… are you ok man? I think you had a bad dream or something.”

Ash, shifting his gaze to his friend and nodding slowly, took in a calming breath before speaking, “I think I would rather wake up from dreaming about making out with that Japanese guy any day compared to that.”

“Uhhh…yo-you uhh...what?” Shorter was stammering at him, at a complete lost for words.

Hanging his head, he couldn’t even find it in himself to try to back track. There was a blush touching at his cheeks as he replied, “Yeah, you heard me right.”

The silence was deafening in the room. Ash was still looking down, wondering if this was too much of a revelation for his best friend to handle; Shorter wouldn’t treat him different would he?

Ash steeled himself, lifting his eyes to meet Shorter’s, “Is this going to be an issue?”

The tone of his voice was surprising even to himself. It was soft, laced with an undertone of worry. Had he just lost his best friend? What would Griffin think, would he be disappointed? Deep in his chest his heart rate was starting to quicken again, but this time in a fearful panic of losing the only people he really cared about.

“Oh my fucking god Ash, it’s seriously about goddamn time you numb skull.”

The look on Ash’s face must have been a good one as he found Shorter snorting, laughing at him unabashedly.

Without warning, Ash grabbed and launched whatever object was close by, which happened to be a combat boot, right at Shorter’s head. The projectile landed against the laughing man’s shoulder with a satisfying THUMP before falling to the floor at his side. Shorter fell over in a pile of blankets, clutching at his sides as his laughter filled the small room.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ash glared at Shorter with a fierce pout. His hair was rumpled from the nightmare and sleeping restlessly; he knew he looked like a petulant child, grumpy and un-amused at his friends wheezing laughter at his own expense.

“Seriously- I thought...I thought you knew you were at least...at least queer!”

“Excuse me?” Ash was at a loss for words, staring at the lump of quivering laughter on the bed next to him, “Don’t tell me I am the last one to know.”

Snorting, Shorter looked at his friend, his laughter calming a bit, “Ok, I won’t!”

Taking his pillow in hand, Ash lobbed it at Shorter’s head and he couldn’t help smiling a bit.

They were fine.

Retrieving his pillow, Ash clutched it to his chest in a tight hug. Taking a deep breath, thankful that the pain was nothing more than a dull ache now, he spoke tentatively.

“Shorter, do you… do you believe in past lives or reincarnation?” Ash quietly inquired. He sounded like he was unsure of himself, almost small.

Having finally stopped laughing Shorter looked at his friend with worry, “Yeah, I think it’s a possibility. Why?”

Ash, shifting on his bed, looked over to his friend “I think I am having dreams of my past life. It all started after I first saw one of the Japanese guy’s get off the bus at the intake center.”

“What kind of dreams? I mean, obviously there seems to be some violence involved,” Shorter’s brows furrowed in concern, “they seem to be pretty bad too, I’ve never seen you wake up like that before.”

Nodding his head Ash continued, “They are so vivid and real, it’s like watching a newsreel in my sleep, but seeing everything from my eyes. I can feel everything. Pain, fear, love, lust, all of it, and it’s pretty fucking scary.”

“The day you passed out and ended up in the hospital do you remember what happened?” Shifting in bed, Shorter crossed his legs to rest his elbows on his knees, listening intently.

Ash could feel the swarming storm emotions inside of himself. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he started out with reliving the moment his eyes met the other mans. What it felt like when, in just a glancing moment, everything started changing. The way his heart raced and how the world had stopped spinning for just that breath of a moment, it had felt like being struck by lightning and his chest being squeezed in a vice. The words “I love you” were still echoing in his mind.

He couldn’t help it, the fidgeting of his hands and the twisting of his fingers in the sheets as he recounted the dreams. The one that had felt like someone had blown through the middle of his chest and the fear that came with it. Ash could still feel the pain if he thought about it long enough. But was it a dream or a memory?   

Lifting his hand, Ash brushed the tips of his fingers to his lips. Still feeling the touch of the other’s mouth against his for a brief moment as he told Shorter about the panic of waking up in the hospital. What it felt like when he laid his eyes on the other sleeping form across the room and the way he felt like he needed to get the fuck out of there. Though he was sharing the visual aspects, he just couldn’t bring himself to share the seemingly intimate details, the private sensation that he could still feel tingling across him. The ghosting touches and racing hearts; he wanted that to himself for now.

Recounting what had woken him up this morning, Ash looked back to Shorter as he finished, “Am I crazy?”

Shorter was silent, processing what Ash was saying to him. If it wasn’t for the fact that Ash was looking right at him, he would have assumed his friend was sleeping again.

“I don’t think you are crazy,” Shorter started off saying, “I think...I think that there is something to this. Reincarnation is something that my mom has talked about, then again, you know, she is Buddhist, and it’s one of the the beliefs. Maybe you and this guy are like, I don’t know, one of those tragic destined pairs or some shit.”

“Destined pairs?” Ash was quiet for a moment before unravelling himself from the sheets, “Maybe? I don’t know man, this is all so crazy.”

Standing, Shorter reached out a hand and helped his friend up from the floor, “Let’s get some food, maybe that will help us figure out what to do next!”

Grasping Shorter’s offered hand, Ash stood up and took a moment to steady himself, making sure that the dizzying nausea wouldn’t hamper his attempts at eating.

“Please tell me your mother sent food this time, I don’t know what Griff left us, and I would like to not throw up everything I eat.”

Trying his best to look offended, Shorter shoved Ash towards the couch as he made his way into the kitchen, “My ability to make breakfast, especially congee is more than acceptable!”

“Oh god, please, not strange Chinese breakfast foods!” Ash whined, flopping down to the couch cushions.

“Asshole!” Shorter laughed, flinging a kitchen towel across the room to land on Ash’s face, “You love my strange Chinese breakfast foods!”

Lifting the corner of the offending towel off his eyes, Ash smirked back at his friend, “Remember, Griff said you are to take care of me, not kill me with bad cooking!”

Shorter, dismissing him with a wave of his hands, couldn’t help his laughter, “Don’t worry princess, I’m making eggs and toast! Your brother left us some basics, said he would pick up stuff off the way home from his shift this afternoon, plus my mom is sending stuff home with him that we can heat back up on the stove easily. “

As Shorter began cracking eggs and cooking for them both,  Ash retrieved his glasses and a book from from the coffee table and curled himself up on the couch. The sizzling and popping of cooking food was lulling him to relax while he thumbed through the pages to find the place where he left off.

“Yo Ash, breakfast!” Shorter called out, walking across the room to bring Ash a plate of fried eggs and a couple pieces of toast that didn’t seem too decimated.

Looking up from his page, Ash took his glasses off and set them on the table reaching for the offered plate, “Thanks, is there coffee or tea or something?”

Sitting down his plate on the coffee table Shorter made a quick retreat, returning with two cups of hot tea, “Yeah, my mom sent some special herbal stuff to help with your head aches and nausea man,” he offered the cup to Ash.

Taking it in hand, Ash gave it a sniff before sipping at the hot liquid, “Mint...chamomile….and, is that a hint of lavender”?

Snorting, Shorter couldn’t help laughing, “and you thought you were into girls...I swear man, you are going to be one of those snobby guys who can sniff out fancy wines and shit!”

Mumbling a quick “Shut up,” Ash took a drink before grabbing his plate, “how many shells am I going to pull out this time?"

“Extra calcium or some shit.” Shorter snarked back at him.

“You broke my yolks.” Ash deadpanned.

“Deal with it.”

The two boys went back and forth, eating in between innocent jabs with the mood light and comfortable. It was relieving for Ash, the feeling of being able to slip back in to some bit of normality after everything that had come up the last few days. He felt like he was able to be just himself for a few hours here at the apartment, bullshitting and teasing Shorter, not having to put much thought to the emotions he was trying to keep at bay.

As their morning wore on Ash found himself getting tired, his head starting to throb a bit at his temples. He wanted to give in and let himself fall into a nice deep nap on the couch, but felt a sudden edge of worry washing over him.

“Hey, what’s up Ash?” Shorter reached over with his hand, giving Ash’s shoulder a slight poke.

“Eh...oh,” Ash swallowed his nerves, trying in vain to hide the worry that was ebbing over him, “I’m fine, just tired I think.”

“I am not convinced. One bit,” Shorter was worried, and was sensing there was more going on here, “are you...are you afraid of going to sleep?”

Sitting up Ash just nodded, looking to the floor as he clasped his hands in his lap, not real sure what to do with himself.

“Yeah,” Ash whispered softly, “I don’t know how to feel or what to think right now, man. It’s scary, and there is this itch under my skin like I need to run to the camp and find him. That it will all make sense if I can just talk to him.”

“Maybe that’s what you should do then,” Shorter said without hesitating, “maybe he is having just as bad of a go at things right now like you are? I mean, if this is like those stories my NaiNai told me as a kid...then he is probably going through the same shit, right?”

“I think you might actually have a good idea for once Shorter.” Ash teasingly complimented back, “But I think I need to wait a few days before I go up there, I don’t think I can walk that far, let alone find the guy I’ve seen once. Maybe I can ask Griffin for help locating him…”

“Locate who Ash?” The front door swung wide open, causing both boys to jump in their seats as Griffin came in with a crate of goods from the market.

Shorter was quick to bail on his friend, jumping up and out the front door to bring in the rest of the goods that his mother had sent back.

Starting to get up from his place on the couch, Griffin glared harshly from the kitchen as he set down the crate in a silent ‘don’t even think about it’ to Ash, “Ahh...I wanted to make sure that guy from the other day was ok. I don’t know Griffin, I just feel like I need to check on him.”

Ash knew it was a shitty excuse. His brother had to know there was something more going on, but if he did he didn’t say anything before replying, “Alright. I will see what I can do, but it will take me a few days, plus I want you to recover a bit more before you go back out to the camp.”

“O-oh, ok. Thanks Griff.” Ash stammered before picking up his book again to continue reading.

A few days has passed since Griff mentioned helping find the other man, which also meant that Ash’s recovery was going well. The dream’s had not stopped, but there was no more waking up in crippling pain or uncomfortable boners from kissing the dark haired individual. (He was doubly thankful for that, God knows the hell he would have caught from Shorter would have been unending.)

This morning found Ash sitting at the kitchen table, reading a very beat up copy of T.S Eliot’s “Waste Land” over a cup of jasmine tea. Shorter was stirring a pot of sweetened congee he had made out of last night’s leftover dinner rice. The smell of cinnamon and butter was mouth watering, and Ash was actually looking forward to one of the few meals Shorter could do well.

Bringing a bowl of the gruel to him, Shorter plopped down in his own chair, leering suspiciously at the book Ash was reading.

“Are you not capable of reading anything normal Ash?” Shorter asked before pouring cold milk into his bowl and heaving a large spoonful into his mouth.

Gently, Ash set down the book and slid the glasses from his face before leveling a glare at his best friend, “I assure you, I can follow pedestrian novelty books just fine, I just prefer to challenge my brain a bit. Now,” he paused long enough to pour milk in his own bowl and added a bit of brown sugar before stirring it all up, “I want to head to the camp today. I need to find this guy.”

Shorter couldn’t help the face he made, his nose wrinkling and obviously trying to not spit his breakfast across the table in laughter before he swallowed, “Dude, you have read that book so many...oh whatever you asshole,” smirking at his friend, he quickly took a drink of his tea before stuffing another spoonful in, “an whaf throat of plan you gof Aff?”

Pausing with the spoon just a few inches from his mouth, Ash, teasingly, gave Shorter a disgusted look, “God, you pig! No wonder you’re mother doesn’t allow you out of the kitchen to eat in public!”

He was trying, and failing, to not laugh at Shorter, who's cheeks were puffing out like a chipmunk, a few bits of rice sticking to his face, “I don’t really have one to be honest. I’m taking you with me in case something goes crazy when I meet him, but Griff did say he should be able to give me at least his block number if we come up there.”

Swallowing, Shorter pointed his spoon at Ash, “Yeah, Griffin gave me strict orders that I am to keep an eye on you at all times still. So I guess that means I get to play chaperone to you and mystery dude.”

Groaning Ash rolled his eyes and drank the last of his tea after taking a few more bites of his breakfast. His appetite had not fully returned, but he was at least getting enough in his system to not pass out, “Ok, after breakfast, before it gets too stupidly hot out. Make sure we fill up the canteens with water too, I really do not want to take a chance of ending up in the ward for dehydration or some shit again.”

“Fair enough!” Shorter mumbled around another large bite of rice, watching as Ash picked up his own bowl and took it to the sink to wash.

Within the hour both boys were trudging up the dirt road to the main gates, Ash could feel the nerves starting to bubble in his stomach, and was suddenly thankful he had kept to eating light this morning. The last thing he needed was to throw up, his brother would probably force him back to the hospital and forbid him to even think about this guy ever again.

Their walk was quiet and Ash was silently thanking Shorter for that. His mind was swarming with unanswered questions, his heart racing with a strange mixture of worry, unease, and a touch of fear of the unknown. Would he pass out again? Would he know who this person was instantly and would he be forced to relive an entire lifetime of memories in a single second? His head was starting to ache again but turning back was not an option now, he had to find him.

“Not chickening out are you Ash?” Shorter finally broke the silence, elbowing his friend in the arm lightly.

“Fuck no. I’m just...I’m a little nervous ok? Cut me some slack, this is kind of a scary big deal with everything that has come to light the last week or so.”

Shorter, stopping in front of Ash, put his hands on his friends shoulders and looked Ash dead in the eyes, “I’m not teasing you Aslan, I’m worried about you ok? This whole thing is new and I won’t let anything happen to you. I know you like to come across as some bad ass, devil without a care type shit, but I have listened to you crying in your sleep, watched you wake up in serious pain from these dreams or memories or whatever they are. You are my brother, and I am along for this ride too.”

Ash felt a blush creeping up his cheeks as he listened to Shorter’s speech. Leave it to this guy to have a serious heart to heart moment at a time like this, though the strength he gained from Shorter’s suddenly declaring his unwavering support did help calm down his nerves.

“And I thought I was the queer here.” Ash was smirking as he teased Shorter, letting the use of his full name slide, this time.

Rolling his eyes, Shorter let Ash go and resumed walking at his side as they made their way through the front gates. Griffin was once again manning a bus of new residence arriving, so the boys stood in the shade, Ash taking a few pulls off his canteen as they waited.

Ash could feel the storm swelling in his body. His skin was tingling and his chest was starting to hurt a little, but it was more out of nerves than anything else. The longer they waited for Griffin, the more his heart started racing; he hoped neither Griff or Shorter would be able to read his emotions well enough to call him on it.

Before long Griffin cam trotting up to the two of them, a look of concern flashing across his face as he glanced at his brother leaning against the barrak wall.

“You sure this is a good idea Ash?”

Nodding, Ash tried to calm down the brewing nerves, “Yeah, I need to do this.”

Ash wasn’t sure what all Griffin actually knew about the situation, but he didn’t let on either way. He knew that Shorter and his brother had talked, hell he had overheard some of the conversation one night as he feigned sleeping on the couch. But it didn’t matter, his brother was letting him do this, the support was all he needed.

“Ok, but if you start feeling sick, Shorter is dragging your ass out of here, got that?” Griff gave both boys a stern look, which was way more effective in his military uniform that it would have been at home.

Smirking, Ash nodded out a quick “Yes boss!” with a half assed salute.

“Residential block 25 is where that bus was assigned. Okumura is his surname, I wasn’t able to get more than that.I got to get back and help the new idiot make sure he doesn’t fuck up the logs like he did last time. See you at home.” There was an edge to Griffin’s voice, talking to Ash like this usually meant he had fucked up, but this time it was out of worry.

“Thank’s” was all Ash said as he took off, heading down the road that separated the blocks. He was running on adrenaline now, his heart racing faster than he thought was possible. In his mind a battle was raging between being excited and being scared out of his wits. This was it, finally he was going to get some answers, or so he hoped.

Shorter was left behind in a daze, confused for a moment at the exchange between the brothers. Ash, not realizing that Shorter was trying to catch up, was in his own world, brows furrowed, his breathing coming in harsh puffs as he jogged. He had no idea really where he was going, but something was drawing him further into the camp, down the dusty road, towards the block his brother had mentioned.

The panic he had felt before was being washed away the closer and closer he was getting to his destination. It was joy that was replacing it now. Pure, unwavering, joy. He felt a warmth wrapping around his heart as he jogged, his mind finally feeling at ease when he rounded the corner to the 25th block and came to a sudden halt mid stride.

There. Sitting against the wall of the barracks, was the man who had unknowingly turned his world upside down and inside out. A book in his hands, and thick black hair falling over his forehead he lifted his gaze. His eyes looked right at Ash, as if he was expecting him, but he didn’t stand up. He was waiting for Ash to make the first move.

As the world came to a dead stop, Ash took a deep breath, his heart racing below his ribs in an uneven rhythm. Moving closer, the rest of the people around them disappeared. No one else mattered. Their eyes never left each other, soaking up the moment as everything exploding around them in a flash of colors.

He stood in front of the man now, not real sure how he had gotten there, and reached out a hand in offering, Ash swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as he helped the other man up, the feeling of his skin against Ash’s sending a fiery rush over his entire body. It felt like time was holding still for them as their hands pressed together, palm to palm.

“I see you,” Ash whispered, his voice quivering, “Eiji.”

The most beautiful smile Ash had ever seen in his life was spreading across Eiji’s features. His eyes looked like cinnamon swirling in brandy as they caught the sunlight, flecks of glittering gold dancing in the depths. He was looking up in to Ash’s eyes as he replied.

“I see you, Ash.”

  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soulmates are finally reunited...Shorter is...well...Shorter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Comments and kudos are fuel for my creative fires, so please give me some much needed instant gratification that I’m doing great!
> 
> With out further ado... I give you chapter three!

 

 

November, 1896

London

 

The rain had finally eased off, but the fog was rolling in off the river, blanketing the lower districts of London in a grey haze. The chill of the air was biting at the exposed skin of Ash’s face, the damp scarf around his neck doing little to ward off the cold when a light wind brushed through the alleyway. Home was sounding better and better the more the elements nipped at him, and even with his hands shoved deep inside his pockets he could feel them going numb. 

With his eyes gazing down at the wet pavement he turned down one of the last alleys to get back home when he saw someone holding an  Asian man up against the brick wall.

“Ple- Please. Stop! Just take my money!” The voice was begging, a thick accent hanging on the syllables.

“Ahh...but what if I want more than your money? You sure are  _ pretty _ for a yellow man.” The man who spoke was holding the Asian man’s throat, pressing his windpipe with a lecherous look in his eyes. It made Ash’s stomach turn, watching in slow motion as the larger guy leaned forward as if he was going to force a kiss upon the other.

Something snapped deep inside. With his heart jumping in to his throat, Ash exploded onto the scene, his muscles springing  into action. It felt like adrenaline with a touch of fury, like he didn’t have control over his own actions as he stepped up behind the guy. With lightning speed, his arm reaching out, he was able to grasp a fistful of blond hair in his hand.

Throwing the attacker off  balance, Ash shoved him into the bricks while twisting the man’s wrists in his free hand. He had no idea why he felt the sudden urge to protect the Asian man, but his actions gave him no time for questioning himself. 

“Back the fuck off.” Ash snarled as he pulled the guy’s arm even further behind the man’s back, twisting it in such a way that Ash knew if he did much more it would dislocate. 

He couldn’t explain this sensation as it started flooding through his blood, igniting every nerve with a fiery electricity. All he felt was a raging storm inside of him. The sound of his pulse beating in his ears, drowning out the sound of the mugger’s pleading words. 

“Let him go.”

A soft voice reached out to him through the red haze that was clouding his vision. He wasn’t sure if it was just in his head, or if he was hearing it for real, but he stepped back, letting his captive free.

The would-be attacker turned in shock, his brown eyes boring a hole through Ash. “We could have shared him you know. No need to go all crazy on me boy-o. He looks like he could be a good fu-”

The man’s eyes were comically wide in shock as Ash punched him in the stomach with a sickening thud. Falling forward, his head landed on Ash’s shoulder as he doubled over. He was fighting to catch his breath as Ash shifted, lowly hissing in the man’s ear.

“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind,” Ash watched as the man, wheezing, made his exit in haste.

Taking a deep breath Ash tried to clear his mind. What the hell had come over him? It took a moment to remember the Asian man who was sitting on the wet pavement now, trying to gather his own thoughts. 

Ash didn’t go looking for trouble, but it always seemed find him. But there was something about this situation that made him snap. A feeling so deeply rooted in him that had been sparked to life; a feeling that he wasn’t sure he could even give a name to. 

Turning and flicking his eyes down he held a hand out, trying to smile warmly, “You ok?”

Mahogany eyes were meeting his, and it felt like a puzzle piece was clicking into place. As their hands met shivering waves of electricity began buzzing under his skin, a welcome warmth that was negating out the chill in the air. It crackled between them as the Asian man stood slowly, his fingers lacing with Ash’s with a deep familiarity. As if they had known each other - loved each other-  for years. It felt right. Their hands fitting perfectly together.

Ash felt a hand caressing his face and he couldn’t help nuzzle into the warmth. With his eyes closing for a brief moment, he felt like a door had been opened in his mind, one that was filling in all the cracked and broken holes in his soul.

Peace. This is what peace felt like, and it washed over him in calming waves. 

His eyes fluttered open, looking right into the other man’s again and he couldn’t help the sweet, blinding smile that spread across his face. 

“I see you, Eiji,” Ash murmured. 

Eiji, leaning up ever so slightly on his toes, brushed his lips against Ash’s, and it felt like the world stopped. 

“I see you, Ash.” He whispered against Ash’s lips. 

\---------------------------------------------

June, 1943

 

Manzanar

 

Standing there, their eyes locked in a steady gaze, the world was starting to slowly move around them again. Ash’s heart was beating through his chest, but this time it was because Eiji was smiling at him. 

His face was tilting up, mahogany eyes filled with something so pure that Ash wasn’t sure he deserved seeing it. Eiji was like sunshine, adoration and love shining over his gentle features. Ash was sure, in this moment, that Eiji’s smile had the ability to cure all the wrongs of the world, and he swore, right then, that if anyone tried hurting this man, they would be paying a steep, steep, price. 

Reaching out slowly, Ash cupped Eiji’s face in his hand gently, not even surprised when he didn’t shy away from the touch. Instead, he leaned into it as he began rising on his tiptoes. Ash began bending forward to meet Eiji halfway, wanting nothing more than to brush their lips together and to feel that incredible surge of emotion that came with a first kiss. The first kiss of this life.

“Ey! Guys,” Shorter had thrust his hand between the two men, receiving a kiss on his palm and the knuckles, “Now is not the time, nor the PLACE for such a...uh… reunion!”

Jumping apart, both Ash and Eiji blinked in confusion as they peered at each other over Shorter’s hand. Well, that was not how it usually went…

Feeling his cheeks flush with heat, Ash looked at Shorter. “Uh...sorry about that?” 

 

The blissful moment of being reunited was broken, but a warmth had settled over him that felt like a blanket; calming and familiar. He really didn’t want it to end. Gently he removed his hand from Eiji’s face, but found his hand to bring their fingers together instead. 

“So, could you two like, maybe not be magnets right now and tell me what in the holy fuck is going on?” Shorter had moved his hand but was looking between the two of them, confusion twisting his features as he made a show of cleaning the kisses off on his pants.

Smiling, Eiji turned to look at Shorter with his big brown eyes, “Eiji, Eiji Okumura.” 

Wiping the smile from his face not going to happen any time soon, and as Eiji gave his short introduction, Ash gave his hand a soft squeeze. 

“Ah...ni-nice to meet you Eiji. I am Shorter Wong, Ash’s best friend and co-conspirator,” Giving Eiji his trademarked crooked grin, Shorter rocked back on his heels, “How ‘bout we take this to the shade, it’s getting a little hot out here.”

“Afraid your dome is going to burn Shorter?” Ash smirked as Eiji began tugging his hand, leading the trio towards a semi secluded shaded area beneath a tree. 

Sitting down, Ash pulled Eiji closer to him, their hands still entwined as they sat hip to hip. Ash leaned back against the trunk, eyes closing for a moment as he took a moment to just enjoy the touch of Eiji’s hand in his. How long had it been? The last time they had touched, kissed, or spent an afternoon laughing at each other? Would his brain continue to be flooded by a lifetime of memories, or would he be remembering only the important parts?

“Ash, hey, come back to me,” Eiji, speaking softly, leaned closer, feeling the tension in Ash’s body. 

“Yeah...so, Ash, Eiji, mind telling me what is going on?” Shorter asked, his fingers playing with a few pieces of dry grass as he sat.

Sitting up a bit more, his thumb gently brushing over Eiji’s knuckles, Ash looked to Shorter with an amused smile. 

“Well. Remember that conversation we had a week or so ago about past lives and soulmates?” Ash started, watching as Shorter nodded slowly, “So, those dreams I have been having, they aren’t dreams. They are, like memories, of my past life with Eiji.”

“In Japan,” Eiji gave a gentle smile, looking at their fingers locking together, “We have a belief in what is called ‘the red string of fate’. Where two people are tied together at the pinkies, and no matter where they are in life, fate will bring them together. Sometimes there are knots that have to be worked out before we can meet, but in the end, we will always find each other.”

Eiji, lifting his gaze to meet Shorter’s, continued on, “Fate will bring us together,  in each lifetime. Sometimes we meet young, sometimes we meet old. I don’t know how many lifetimes this makes, but our souls have always belonged together. Always connected.”

Ash watched the new information sinking into Shorter’s brain, soaking it up like a sponge. His face scrunched up, questions on the tip of his tongue, “So is that why Ash passed out the first time he saw you? Does that happen every time?”

Shrugging, Ash picked up the conversation, “Things went a little differently this time than that last. Honestly, that’s the only fucking thing I can think of why I landed in the hospital ward. The headaches and episode being caused by us not being able to touch, you know, I guess like, complete the bond?  Normally we meet, and when we touch, bits of our past memories like, wake up, and this life goes on.”

“Dude, how are you just like, ok with holding hands out of nowhere with this guy? You almost kissed! Do you even know him, like, is it BOOM and you know everything about each other or what?” Shorter looked between the two of them, almost panicking as he tried to put it all together. 

Reaching out, Eiji pressed his palm to Shorter’s shoulder, “ Um...what’s the phrase… destined pair? I know nothing, Ash, in this lifetime, is a stranger to me and up until the moment I saw him at intake, I had no memories. But our souls know each other. It’s just how it works.”

Shorter was obviously trying to process the load of information that had just been dumped on him. Hell, Ash had just figured out he was queer as a three dollar bill a week ago, and now, here he was, sitting in the middle of a internment camp with his soulmate. Ash could tell by the way Shorter was sitting, tension in his shoulders, eyes furrowing, that he had loads more questions to ask.

“So,” Shorter started, “Uhh...What do you remember, from then?” 

Smiling, Ash closed his eyes before speaking “I remember saving Eiji, in London. Some guy was trying to rob him, maybe even hurt him. I don’t remember, though, beyond a few flashes of memory, what our life was like. I know I died of a gunshot to the chest at some point, and I only know that because of one of the dreams I had in the hospital.”

Eiji shifted at his side, squeezing Ash’s hand before looking to him, “I remember you saving me, Ash, and I remember...well...no, I don’t think that’s something I want to talk about right now.”

Shorter smirked at Eiji, “Oh? One of those dreams huh?”

There was a pink that started coloring the tips of Eiji’s ear, dusting down his face and below the collar of his t-shirt, “Tha-That’s not what I meant!” He stammered. 

Laughing as he stood, Shorter looked down at the two men, “Well, um...I am going to let you two get reacquainted. Keep your hands to yourselves and behave!” 

“Says the guy who gave it up on the first date.” Ash couldn’t help smirking, two could play this game. 

“Y-you just...shut it!” Shorter was at a loss for words, “I- we need to be back for dinner, my mom is sending some good shit tonight, be back in a couple hours s-so don’t do anything stupid!”

Tilting his head back against the tree again Ash let out a carefree laugh as Shorter walked away, even Eiji was chuckling at his side. 

Catching their breaths, Eiji laid his cheek against Ash’s shoulder and let his free hand trace patterns on Ash’s forearm.

“Tell me your story,” Eiji asked softly, “How did we get to this point?”

Humming softly Ash relaxed, any tension he might of felt melting away. He pressed his cheek to the top of Eiji’s head, inhaling the scent of his shampoo as fluffy black hair tickled his face gently. 

“Well, I’m 17. My brother is a M.P here at the camp, so we live in the barracks apartments just outside the fences. He, Griffin, brought me here from Cape Cod after he got reassigned, to get me away from our dad when I was 14. So here I am, in the middle of nowhere, sitting here with you, in a goddamn internment camp for people who have done nothing wrong but be Japanese.” 

Ash wasn’t ready to tell Eiji the rest of the story, the abuse he had faced, or him running away to chase after his brother. He was pretty sure Eiji knew he was holding back, he would tell him, later, just not now. Right now Ash wanted to get lost listening to Eiji talk, even if was his life story or mundane chatter; hell, he could read Ash the good book and he would find it enthralling. 

Lifting his head, Ash shifted his gaze to Eiji, looking into his eyes a gentle smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “How did you get here?”

Eiji, sighing, gave Ash’s hand another soft squeeze, “Well. I’m 19, and I came to San Francisco to study photography and journalism about 2 years ago. Ibe-san, my mentor but more like an uncle, brought me here from Tokyo after...after my parents died.” Ash could see moisture glistening in Eiji’s eyes and his heart suddenly hurt, a deep ache in his chest that he was pretty sure Eiji was feeling too. 

“I’m sorry,” Ash whispered softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Eiji’s head, “You don’t have to keep going.”

Shaking his head, Eiji looked up at Ash and gave him a sad smile, “I guess we both have things we are not ready to share yet, huh?”

Ash was looking in to Eiji’s doe-like eyes when he nodded softly, “Yeah...I guess so.” 

“Ash...Aslan...please?” Eiji murmured, just barely above a whisper.

He was lost to this man. Denying his plea felt like a grave sin, and Ash was not able to hold back any more. Letting Eiji’s hand go, he lifted his own to gently cradle Eiji’s face with the gentlest of touches. His thumb gently tracing Eiji’s lips before Ash leaned forward, brushing a kiss against Eiji’s mouth. 

It was a brief, tender kiss. Feather light, tentative to start before Eiji, pressing his hand to the back of Ash’s neck, pulled him in further. This time it was more solid, their lips pressing together deliciously, a spark of energy crackling across Ash’s skin and blazing through his body. This kiss, this was the kind of kiss that made time stop; nothing else mattered in this moment between them. As Ash flicked his tongue across Eiji’s, he felt teeth nibbling at his lower lip, lost in the moment. 

Reluctantly, Ash pulled back trying to catch his breath. Pressing his forehead against Eiji’s he felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. 

“I have missed you, so much. My heart feels full again,” Ash whispered, the sensation of Eiji toying with the soft hair at the nape of his neck grounding him, “I have to, but I don’t want to leave. I can’t take you with me, and I don’t know how I am supposed to walk away after finding you again.”

“Aslan, my Ash, we have a lifetime together, a few moments apart are nothing when we look at the future,” pressing a kiss to Ash’s forehead, Eiji sighed softly, “I don’t want to be away from you any more than you, but we both have to be patient. Right? This war has put us in this position, but I know we have been through worse, we can survive this little knot in our thread right?” 

Smiling softly, Ash gently pressed his lips to Eiji’s again, like a promise, “Yeah. Yeah I know. We will get through this, you will be out of this place one way or another. We will figure it out.”

Pulling back, Eiji’s eyes met Ash’s once again, the smile on his kiss swollen lips was beautiful, and Ash was certain he could write books of poetry about Eiji’s smile alone. 

“I should go before Shorter comes back, I need to check in with Griff too. Tomorrow, I will come back tomorrow, I promise.” Sealing his words with a kiss, Ash stood and helped Eiji up from the ground before dusting the seat of his pants off.

Eiji surprised him as he threw his arms around Ash’s neck, whispering in his ear, “I love you.” 

There was the most adorable pink dusting Eiji’s cheeks following the boldness of his declaration. 

Wrapping his arms around Eiji’s midsection, Ash laughed at the sweetness, “I love you, too,” he replied before pressing a kiss to Eiji’s nose and reluctantly disengaged. God, he didn’t want to leave him behind, and as they parted, he could see unshed tears glistening in Eiji’s big brown eyes. Turning from view, Ash let out a shaky sigh, his knees feeling weak and his chest aching. 

The pain in his head was starting to return, and he wondered how long this would be tormenting him. It was taking every ounce of willpower he had to not turn around and run right back in to Eiji’s arms, to stay and never leave his side. Him staying behind these fences, guard towers with armed MP’s atop them, made Ash feel sick deep in his guts. He had to get Eiji out of here. 

Somehow.

Fisting his shirt over his heart, he took a deep breath and began walking towards the checkpoint. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for talking with his brother right now and hoped he would avoid running into him. Dealing with this in a few hours, after food and maybe some pain medicine for his head, was sounding better and better the farther he got from Eiji.

God, was his chest hurting though. The further Ash got from the other half of his soul the more his ribs felt like they were being squeezed in a vice hold. His stomach began to twist uncomfortably, the nausea returning to take its hold on his guts. Fuck, he just…

“Hey...hey Ash! Dude, you look like hell again.” Shorter came trotting up to him, a bag in hand that probably contained food that Ash was sure he wouldn’t be keeping down at this point. 

“Thanks buddy,” He quipped back dryly, his throat on fire and voice rough, “I think I just need to get some water and medicine in me.” Ash looked to Shorter, silently pleading for him to help. 

“Ye-yeah, lets get you back to the barracks and out of the sun.” Ash could hear the concern in Shorter’s voice but neither said anything. 

 

Slipping an arm around Ash’s torso, Shorter supported most of his weight as they made the short walk back to the safety of the barrack. Ash didn’t speak, his throat was hurting far to much to make conversation and he desperately wanted water to try and sooth the burning sensation. God, would it be like this every time he had to leave Eiji behind? 

Eiji. 

His beautiful smile, the way his eyes filled with sunlight when he met Ash’s gaze after finally being reunited. The way his heart raced when they were finally able to touch, even just the simplicity of holding each others hands was enough in that moment to ground him. Their bond wasn’t complete, that had to be the reason his body was reacting like this. Truly love sick. 

As Shorter kicked open the front door the two boys were met with a very startled Griffin, and his buddy Max sitting at the kitchen table playing cards. 

“Goddamn it…” Ash groaned, Griffin was the last thing he was hoping to deal with, and now he also had the pleasure of Max also getting to be a part of this party.

“Ash, what the hell? Shorter, I told you to keep an eye on him! What the fuck is going on?” Griffin had rushed across the room and taken Ash’s weight off of Shorter. 

“I’m fine Griffin, really.  I swear,” Ash felt queasy, but looked up at his brother, “I just need to rest, I think I was out in the sun to much.”

His brother lead him to the couch. Ash lifted his hand, poking Griff between the eyes where wrinkles had formed, “Don’t do that, it makes you look fucking old.”

Smirking, Griff crossed his arms over his chest as he stood back to his full height, “If you are fine, then why are you crying?” 

Brushing his fingers over his cheeks, Ash felt the moisture upon his skin and blinked. How long had he been crying, and for fucks sake, why was he crying?

“I...I don’t know why I’m crying.” Ash lifted his eyes, looking up at his brother. 

“What happened with the Japanese kid?” Griffin’s tone meant he was taking on the concerned older brother gig now, Ash didn’t stand a chance of getting out of this one.

Shorter, handing Ash a couple of aspirin and a glass of water, glanced up at Griff, “I will tell you about it in a few, I think Ash needs to rest, man. After what I saw today, I think we are in for one hell of a conversation tonight.”

Ash sent out a silent thank you as he tossed back the tablets, swallowing them down with a big gulp of water before speaking again, “Max, you might want to get us some beers or some decent whiskey. I think I fucking need it, too.”

“After you rest kiddo.” Griff nodded to his brother. 

Groaning, Ash weakly looked for a pillow or some other object to lob at his brother in response to being called ‘kiddo’.

Shorter was poorly holding back a snort of laughter and Max didn’t care as he let out a loud bark. 

“Rest, Ash,” Griff said softly, “Go lay down in that messy nest of a bed. We will wake you up for dinner.”

“Yeah, that sounds...that sounds really fucking good right now.” At least he wasn’t shaking any longer as he stood up. 

Stumbling towards their room, Ash gave a weak wave of his hand before closing the door and face planting on his mattress. As he closed his eyes he felt his heart start swelling, a gentle warmth setting over his body as he was greeted by the beautiful image of Eiji’s smile playing back in his mind. He could feel the ghost of Eiji’s lips on his, making him feel complete, like that missing puzzle piece had finally clicked into place.  

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intense flashback and a few revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot even tell you guys how much I appreciate the comments and kudos! Thank you for all the love and support, it fuels me!
> 
> I still have no clue how long this will be...I’m thinking 15 chapters? God only knows. 
> 
> FYI...WE HIT SOME SPICE AND UNDER AGE DRINKING

 

London, November 1896

 

_ A foggy haze was clouding up the windows as a cold rain pattered against the glass. But the chill would never find its way in to touch the two figures currently wrapped up in front of the fireplace. Huddling under an old quilt they listened to the crackling of the wood as they exchanged soft sweet kisses and gentle laughter.  _

 

_ Ash’s arms were wrapped tightly around Eiji’s middle, he felt no strain from the day spent working on the docks; the heavy lifting forgotten as soon as Eiji placed that first tender kiss on his lips. The remnants of his laboring at the riverside had been washed from his skin, Eiji having joined him in the hot water of the bath, softly scrubbing free the dirt and grime of the day.   _

 

_ Ash had sat with his back against Eiji’s chest, lost in the sounds of softly splashing water as Eiji rubbed a sponge over Ash’s shoulders and torso. Eiji was gentle, almost reverent in his touches, making it far more intimate than Ash had originally thought it would be. Each movement of Eiji’s deft fingers left him shivering, but not from the chill air that hung outside the glass windows. It was from the light, gentle kisses had been placed against his neck and shoulders, leaving tingling little pops of electricity on his skin.  _

 

_ Once he was clean, smelling of sandalwood, they found themselves curling up under the large quilt. Both comfortable in their night clothes and sipping tea, they shared stories of their day. It was perfect. Just being in Eiji’s presence calmed him, any racing or troubling thoughts were erased at the gentlest of touches from Eiji’s hand. _

 

_ They had been exchanging languid kisses for what felt like hours, sweet and reserved. As they enjoyed the closeness of each others bodies their hands carefully, almost timidly, began to explore under the loose night shirts they both wore. _

 

_ It didn’t take long for the energy of the room to start changing. As kisses lingered, touches danced over sensitive areas coaxing little gasps and moans to escape each other’s throats as the air turned heady.   _

 

_ The blanket was soon discarded, puddling on the floor as Eiji crawled into Ash’s lap, his thighs bracketing Ash’s hips as his night dress rucked up. Eiji had started carding his fingers through Ash’s hair while Ash scraped his nails lightly over the dips and knobs of Eiji’s spine, memorizing each groove. _

 

_ Soft gasps and whimpers egged Ash on and he found himself wanting to make those noises keep escaping Eiji’s lips. He felt Eiji give a full body shudder as he began to nibble and lick at Eiji’s slender throat. Ash could feel Eiji’s hands grasping tighter at his hair as his kisses started traveling further down, till Ash was sucking a mark into the skin at Eiji’s collar bone.  _

 

_ Feeling the hardness of Eiji’s erection pressing into his lower abdomen, Ash groaned deep against Eiji’s skin and rocked his hips in search of some friction. Their bodies where both aching for more and more with each kiss; each scratch of blunt nails leaving trails of fire across their skin.   _

 

_ God the noises Eiji made, so beautiful and needy, filled the flat as they both ground against each other, needing something more to satiate some of the excitement they were both feeling. Pulling Ash off his throat, Eiji brought their lips together in a desperate kiss that was all teeth and tongues and could only be described as absolutely filthy. _

 

_ It was lustful, their bodies obviously wanting, needing more. Ash, groaning in to Eiji’s mouth, felt his hips rocking up again so that his hardness met Eiji’s own hardened cock. They both moaned into the kiss, their lungs burning for air before they finally broke apart.  _

 

_ “Oh fuck...Eiji,” Ash’s grasp on Eiji’s hips tightened when Eiji ground down with an illicit whimper, “I want-no I need to touch you.” _

 

_ “Please,” Eiji moaned before brining their mouths together again in a brief, but bruising kiss, “Touch me...remind me...what it like to be yours.” _

 

_ Their foreheads pressed together, both of their bodies trembling as they took a moment to breath. Ash’s thumbs gently rubbed circles against Eiji’s hip bones, itching to take off the night dress and press sweet kisses to Eiji’s skin. _

 

_ “Off, all of it off” Ash’s voice was husky, a low rumbling that came from deep in his chest. The tone was full of the unabashed need that was thrumming through his veins, taking him to the precipice of something he knew he wouldn’t be coming back from.  _

 

_ Eiji stood, rising from Ash’s lap fluidly. Leaning back, resting his hands on the floor, Ash was unable to tear his gaze away as he watched. He could see that Eiji’s fingers were starting to shake as he began to lift the hem of his night dress to expose himself. His big, beautiful, mahogany eyes locked on to Ash’s, as if needing something to ground him in the intensity of the moment.  _

 

\-----------

 

“Ash...Hey...dumbass. Wake up.” A voice broke through the memory, ripping the sight of Eiji starting to strip from Ash’s mind.

 

A wicked sounding growl ripped from deep inside Ash’s throat as he felt the tip of a shoe nudging his shoulder, “Ash, wake up.” 

 

Ash peered out from under his blankets, glaring daggers at Shorter who kept his distance. When it came to waking Ash up it was common knowledge to stay as far away as possible, and make sure that if he started reaching for something to throw, that you best be able to dodge it. 

 

Muttering a few choice curses under his breath, Ash rolled over and slowly sat up. He braced himself, hoping that the pain would not flood his brain upon moving and was pleasantly surprised that there was nothing more than a dull ache now. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Shorter asked, offering a hand out to help Ash up.

 

“I hate you, so fucking much right now Shorter Wong. I never want to hear your voice in my dreams again.” Ash’s cheeks were flushed a deep pink, his lungs aching to catch his breath. That was a hell of a dream to get woken up from, and fuck did he want to keep it going. 

 

He had to take a few calming breaths before he could walk, the aching need he felt in the dream not exactly helpful when he had to go face his brother. (Hell, facing Max with a boner would just be grounds to be teased till Max would end up with a fist in his face.)

 

It was too hot to wrap a blanket around himself, so, sucking in a deep breath, he steeled himself and slipped out in to the main living area. Ash was greeted by Max and Griffin still playing cards, but this time, they both had beers sitting in front of them. 

 

“Mornin’ sleeping beauty!” Max called out with a grin. 

 

“Fuck you old man,” Ash mumbled before sitting himself down on the couch, “Can I get one of those?” he asked, nodding towards the glass bottles on the counter. 

 

Shorter, having followed Ash out of the bedroom grabbed two, one for each of them, before plopping down on the sofa beside him and handed Ash the bottle opener he had grabbed, but only after popping his own open. 

 

Griffin turned his chair and gave his brother a look before speaking. Ash felt his stomach twist nervously.

 

“Alright, so I got some of the story from Shorter, but I think I need to hear more from you.”

 

Ash, popping open the lid and taking a swig, nodded and took a breath, “Well, honestly, I am still pretty confused by the entire fucking situation. The dreams I have been having are flashes of memories, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I know it’s all true, I would be committing myself to an asylum. I am also hoping that you will believe me in all of this bullshit craziness.”

 

Standing, Griffin made his way over to Ash, beer in hand, and sat on the coffee table in front of him. Griff placed a hand on his brothers shoulder in an effort to reassure him as he spoke, “I believe you Aslan.”

 

Ash watched his brother take a swig and a deep breath, as if he was gathering up courage, “I believe you be-because I have been through it too. The flashbacks, the memories that come flooding back because of a touch.”

 

Taking a large drink of his beer before sitting back, looking at his brother before his his swept across the room to the man sitting at the kitchen table. “Max?” he questioned quietly, “When? How?”

 

“When I was in basic. That’s when we met, it’s the reason I followed him here. This wasn’t some random assignment Ash, I had to follow Max here. Even with our bond completed, being away from each other was pure hell. Physically it took a toll on us and we had to figure out a way to be together.”

 

Ash took a second to let that news sink in. His brother and Max, they where...they had…”Oh my god,” Ash whispered to himself, a blush blossoming over his cheeks and he took another deep draw off his bottle. He didn’t want to think on that idea too hard. But it dawned on him,why Griff had given him that strange look back at the hospital.

 

“Wait...wh-what?!” Shorter exclaimed, coughing harshly as he swallowed beer down the wrong pipe. “That means...that you and Max...dude what the fuck?”

 

Max got up from the kitchen table to flop down in the ratty oversized chair that Griff usually occupied, “Yes Shorter, that means those quote un quote card nights at my place, were mor-”

 

“STOP,” Ash exclaimed, “I do NOT need to think about this! Why didn’t I notice you and Max being...more than friends?!”

 

Taking another drink of his beer, Griffin smiled, “Because I didn’t know how you would feel knowing your big brother was a damn queer. Plus, I wasn’t sure if you believe me when it came to all of the past lives and soulmate shit.”

 

Shrugging, Ash leaned back back against the couch cushions and tucked his bare feet under him, “I would never have judged you for being a queer, Griffin. Feeling slightly offended here that you would even think that I would. But, back to what we are supposed to be talking about, right?”

 

Nodding, the other three settled back with their drinks and Ash began to recount everything from day one. The alcohol helping in relaxing not just his body, but his tongue too, making it much easier for him to delve in to the details of the story. He could feel the ache deeply, reliving the past few weeks in detail for the first time. How, painfully, he had to leave Eiji behind the gates of the camp and what it felt like to have these flashes of memories return in his dreams. Every now and again he paused, taking a pull from his beer before picking up where he left off, thankful the others didn’t interrupt his story. 

 

Once he finished, looking at his three companions, he sighed, “So, I don’t really understand why I am still having these fucking episodes whenever I am apart from him. It feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest, and that my body is being torn in half.”

 

With a nod, Griffin finally spoke up, “I think it’s different for each of us, but it seems that it is worse for one over the other.”

 

“How so?” Ash questioned with confusion. 

 

“Well, Max was much worse off than I was,” Griffin paused for a moment to glance at Max, “Yeah, I was sick, spent some time in the hospital wing the first few times we were apart when he had to go off on assignment or something, but him…” 

 

Ash saw his brother wincing and he felt a sudden surge of guilt, his heart aching at the thought of Eiji having to go through anything like what Ash had been experiencing. 

 

“It got so bad to the point that I had to come back and take a month leave,” Max was speaking now, and Ash could hear the distant memory of pain in his voice, “They had to fly me back here hooked up to an I.V and I couldn’t keep food down the entire time I was away from your brother. When I came back to the base they asked me if there was someone I could stay with to recover, and I instantly asked for Griff. It was over this period that we decided that where one goes, the other follows.”

 

“That’s when I was asked if I wanted to go to work out here for the War Commission, they needed guys who had trained as military police. I took the post, and Max was able to transfer as well once he was returned to duty. They needed a pilot for keeping the place supplied, and with his background as an M.P he could pull double duty.”

 

“You guys are able to be apart now, right? Does it still make you sick?” There was an air of concern, Ash was almost afraid to hear the answer. 

 

“Yeah,” Griffin took a drink before he gave Ash a reassuring smile, “It does get better, but there for a while, I went on supply runs to the east coast with him, the excuse was to go see you. The worst for us was when I had to drive you out here. Remember the headaches I kept getting, that went away as soon as we got back here?”

 

Ash was nodding, “ But, what does this mean for Eiji and I? What am I supposed to do? I can’t just move in with him in the camp, ya know?”

 

Shorter was the first in commenting, “So get him out of there.”

 

Ash sat up, blinking at his best friend, “And how do you suppose I pull that off dumbass?”

 

“I-I don’t know. But you guys can’t be apart. It’s making you sick man, and god only knows what it is doing to him too, ya know?”

 

Griffin sat up, looking to Max before he turned his gaze back to Ash, “There is a way, but it will take time to get set up.” They had obviously already been thinking about this. 

 

“How?” Ask asked before taking the last drink of his beer.

 

“Well, with Max being a pilot, we could figure out a plan that would get you from here, back to the east coast. The three of you, Shorter included, can get to New York city on one of Max’s cargo runs to one of the bases. There is a newish air strip at Bennet that would get you pretty close.”

 

Ash could feel his heart fluttering in his chest as Griff continued to explain how Max could smuggle them on a flight, and the three boys could find refuge with Shorter’s sister in New York. They would have to figure it out from there, how to get to their old house in Cape Cod, but it was possible. Dangerous, highly illegal, but possible.

 

“But the real problem,” Max started, “is getting Eiji out of the camp without things going wrong. The last thing we need is for either of you to get shot.”

 

As the other three continued to talking, trying to strategize, Ash leaned back again, his mind wandering. Was it possible? Could they get free of this place and go back to the Cape? But that would also mean he would be dealing with his fucking father, who he knew would not be as...welcoming if Ash showed up at his front door with his Jap lover. 

 

Ash tried to put that thought from his mind, one issue at a time, before looking back to his brother, “I still can’t wrap my mind around it all. You and Max are fine now, and I realize it's been a few years, but..Was it as bad for you as it is for me Max?”

 

Max leaned forward in his seat, “No, not even by half. You and Eiji. There is something so different about you two. The connection is so different. Maybe...maybe you guys have a longer or deeper tie, more lifetimes spent together. But it feels like you and Eiji are on a totally different level than us. You two are so deeply entwined, and, as much as I wish I did, I don’t make the rules for how this works.”

 

He didn’t want to admit it, but his head was starting to throb slightly and his eyes were beginning to grow heavy. Sleep was once again beaconning him to his bed. 

 

Standing slowly, the other three’s eyes on him all at once, he gave a slight smile, “Guys, I think...I think I need to go lay down. This is a lot to process.”

 

Griffin looked up at his brother standing in front of him, “Get some rest kid, let us figure the rest out ok? But I think you have been through enough today.”

 

Nodding, Ash murmured a good night and slipped into the shared bedroom. Melting in to his bed he let out a soft groan, his hands fisting in the sheets, “I need you Eiji. I need you with me. I just don’t know how to make this fucking happen.”

 

\-------------------------

 

The next morning Ash was first to rise and quietly slipped out of his bed, leaving Shorter sprawled out on the floor next to him and his brother and Max, somehow, sharing Griff’s double bed. He took a moment, blinking as his brain tried registering THAT bit of information before he let out a sigh and slipping from the room in silence. 

 

Once he made his way to the kitchen his mind instantly began wandering, wanting to know how Eiji was doing. So much of what Max and Griff had said last night, about how they both had been so harshly affected by the distances, was making sense. Being apart was physically painful, to the point that both his brother and Max had ended up in hospital wards at some points. All this time, Ash had been under the assumption that their moving here, to Manzanar, was all because of the military, not because Griff couldn’t physically be away from his soulmate. 

 

He couldn’t help the aching feeling in his chest as he started measuring out spoonfuls of coffee grounds into the percolator basket, it needed to be a bit stronger once he counted the number of empty beer bottles in the room. Ash let out a sigh as water filled the pot before clicking on the burner to brew the coffee, he needed to see Eiji. 

 

The smell of brewing coffee wafted through the room, but it did nothing much for the train of thought Ash was currently on. How did they really think they could pull something like this off? His brother and Max would be in major trouble if they got caught, and what would that mean for them? Their careers would be at risk, probably spend time at Leavenworth, but knowing Griff, he would willingly put his life on the line to make sure Ash’s needs came first. 

 

“Hey, Ash, you ok?”

 

“Fuck! Griffin!” He had been caught off guard, Griffin startling him out of his thoughts. He now stood with his back to the counter, hands white knuckled as he tried catching his breath, forcing his heart out of his throat.

 

Griffin was laughing, trying to be quiet about it, and failing miserably, “I thought-I thought you heard me come in! Oh my god, I wish I could say I was sorry, but the look on your face is priceless! I haven’t seen you jump like that since you were little!” 

 

Ash glared, hard. If looks could kill, this one would cut Griffin in to a million little pieces and set them on fire, “I fucking hate you Griffin Callenreese,” he deadpanned, “But besides trying to give me a fucking heart attack, I’m...ok? Just trying to process all of this. You and Max, me and Eiji.”

 

Griffin, nodding, wrapped his brother in a hug, the kind that made Ash feel protected and safe. It was a warmth that he only got from Griff crushing him, and one that he would miss if their plan actually worked out.

 

“Everything is going to be fine, I promise you.” Griff said lightly into Ash’s hair before he let him go. 

 

Ash reached for two coffee mugs, the brew now bubbling in the percolator, and filled them with enough room to add some milk and sugar. Griff was one step ahead of him and offered Ash the glass milk bottle from their fridge and then leaned against the opposite counter again as Ash made up both mugs. 

 

Once he was done, Ash turned, offering Griffin his cup before taking a sip of his own. The coffee was a dark roast, the bitterness slightly dulled with the addition of milk and sugar. Looking at his brother, Ash sighed softly, his shoulders slumping slightly. 

 

“Why are you willing to put your lives, your jobs, at risk of being considered a traitor to the government? I...I don’t know if I am worth all this Griff.” 

 

Peering over the lip of his coffee cup, Griffin leveled his gaze with his brother, “You are. I have found my other half, you deserve to be with yours, Aslan. I will do everything I can to give you two a fighting chance in this world. Even if that means going up against the war relocation council or the U.S army. ”

 

Ash was unable to find words but gave his brother a nod. His heart was swelling with what Griffin just told him, a smile tugging at his lips. 

 

“I didn’t know you were able to smile at 7 in the morning Ash!” Griff said smirking, the tender moment between the two brothers broken.

 

Rolling his eyes Ash pushed off the counter, coffee in hand, “Ass.”

 

Both jumped as they heard a loud thump and cursing. The smell of the coffee must have triggered Max into trying to navigate the small room, in turn the half awake man must have forgotten Shorter was sprawled out over the remaining floor space. 

 

“OUUF…!” Shorter’s voice was muffled, “Get offa me you geezer!” 

 

“I’m trying you little shit!” Max yelled back. 

 

Griffin and Ash just looked at each other, laughter suddenly filling the room as two very rumpled versions of Max and Shorter came stumbling free of the bedroom. Griffin paused long enough to pull down two more mugs as the other two men continued their sleepy bickering, “Coffee?”

 

“Fuck. Yes,” Shorter grumbled before glancing back to Max, motioning him to go ahead of him, “Age before beauty old man.”

 

“You need to get better friends Ash.” Max said flatly, filling up his mug.

 

Ash snorted behind his coffee cup, sitting down on the sofa and tucking his legs under him as he glanced to the books on the coffee table. Maybe Eiji would appreciate something to read?

 

“What’s the plan today, Ash?” Shorter asked groggily, sipping at his cup.

 

“I need to go back to the camp. Maybe take Eiji some books or something?” He had been rereading Waste land, it was one of his favorite epics by Eliot, maybe Eiji would appreciate it?

 

“You realize they have an entire library right?” Griff added after a sip.

 

“Yeah, but,” he paused, cradling his coffee cup closer, enjoying the warmth in his hands, “it’s one of my favorites, I thought maybe he might like it.”

 

“Romance of the book worms.” Shorter smirked. 

 

Rolling his eyes, Ash returned the quip, “Oh shut up, it’s called having a brain, fat-head.” 

 

As the morning rolled on, Max and Griff took off to take care of their own business while Ash and Shorter made plans for his time at the camp today. Eiji was the only thing on Ash’s mind, wanting to spend as many hours as he could with him despite his chaperone of Shorter. 

 

Soon the two of them were heading out the door and Ash, slinging a knapsack over his shoulder, looked to Shorter, “Are you sure you are willing to hang out with us? I know this shit is...well strange.”

 

Shutting the door behind them, Shorter nodded as he put his sunglasses over his eyes, “I’m fine. As your best friend, and chaperone, it is my duty to make sure you are not stupid in public.”

 

Raising an eyebrow, Ash smirked, “Oh that’s rich, coming from you.”

 

Being the mature young adult that Shorter was, he stuck out his tongue and flipped Ash off teasingly. 

 

Ash shook his head, laughing as the two of them made their way towards the gates of the camp. The late morning sun was beaming down on them, already hot and uncomfortable. Ash hoped that the day wouldn’t be too extreme, but he figured he was probably asking too much at this point. 

 

At least the fucking debilitating nausea and pain was absent now, hell, his heart was actually excitedly racing the closer the two of them go to the guard post. Ash was feeling...giddy? The thought of spending the day with Eiji giving him a reason to smile as they passed the officers at the gate, trying to look as unassuming as possible. It wasn’t like Ash hadn’t spent hours mingling with in the camp, it really wasn’t like a prison in that aspect, so seeing him with a knapsack slung over his back wasn’t anything to question. 

 

Shorter was chuckling to himself as they moved into the camp when Ash turned at raised an eyebrow at him in question. 

 

“Nothing man, really. It’s nice to see you not wanting to puke your guts out!” 

 

Ash went to give him a snarky reply when his eyes were caught by the sight of Eiji, currently snapping pictures of other camp residence as they trimmed little bonsai trees. His breath caught in his throat. Eiji didn’t notice him yet, in his own little bubble as he played photographer and talked to the other people. His voice was a soft tenor note, Japanese spilling from his tongue rapidly. Ash had never noticed how beautiful the language was till now, and it made his heart flutter hearing Eiji speak with such natural ease.

 

There was suddenly an elbow prodding him in the ribs, Shorter’s fucking elbow to be exact, right into the intercostal muscles, “Hey, Romeo, snap out of it.”

 

It took an incredible amount of self restraint to not give into hitting Shorter over the head, “I’m surprised you even know Shakespeare,” he said flatly. 

 

“Huh?” Shorter was looking confused.

 

Ash stepped away shaking his head, mumbling “of course not,” under his breath. 

 

By now Eiji had noticed the two of them, his camera hanging around his neck as he wound the film canister by the little tab on top. His smile was almost blinding and Ash felt like he needed to avert his gaze for fear of his cheeks turning any more pink than they already were. His heart started fluttering in his chest just from the look that had settled in Eiji’s eyes. This boy was going to put his heart in cardiac arrest if he wasn’t careful.

 

Ash mumbled a lame “Mornin’ Eiji,” while shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts, cheeks still blazing red as he found a rock on the ground incredibly interesting. 

 

He heard Shorter snort off to his side, probably quite amused at seeing Ash act shy for once in his life. God, the things Eiji brought out in him, like awkward moments, made people see Ash for the kid he really was. Ash was maybe rough around the edges, but he knew that the only other person who knew the truth about him was now standing face to face with him and smiling back just as awkwardly. 

 

“Hey, Ash, Shorter, I was hoping that I would get to see you today,” Eiji shifted his feet, his hands sliding behind to clasp at the small of his back, “I need to go back to my...room… and exchange my film canisters.”

 

Nodding, Ash moved to walk beside Eiji, “Sounds like a plan?”

 

Ash was not sure why it came out like a question, but the nervous flip of his stomach might explain part of it. How was he, the strong willed and intelligent person that he was, suddenly nervous about being so close to the boy. A boy he had apparently followed through countless lifetimes, who had loved him so effortlessly and completely in each one. He was really hating emotions at this moment, such confusing and worthless things.

 

As Eiji moved his arms from behind his back Ash felt a soft tug at the hem of his pants pocket, where his own hand was currently still buried. He was pretty sure his cheeks were going to be stained a permanent shade of pink as he slipped his hand free and clasped his fingers between Eiji’s. How had they gone from sharing such an intense kiss just the day before, to being so incredibly awkward around each other?! 

 

Maybe it was the energy of their pasts being unlocked having worn off and now it was time to move forward in this life. It was their chance to start over, the memories of their previous life a whisper in the back of their minds, giving them the space they needed to build new ones. He wondered if he would ever remember any of the other lifetimes so vividly as the last one, though the thought of just the memories of the most recent were so intense sometimes that he kind of dreaded the idea of remembering more.

 

Whatever it was, Ash could tell Shorter was incredibly amused at the entire interaction between the two of them. He was being silent, but a smirk was dancing across his face that was full of mischief, meaning that he was cataloging every way possible to tease Ash about this later. Ash was pretty sure that payback for all the jabs about Shorters poor cooking skills were about to be repaid, in full. 

 

“We aren’t interrupting anything are we?” Ash asked, glancing to look at Eiji as they walked up the dirt road. 

 

“Not really? I was going to develop my film, but I’m not sure my head can handle the chemicals for long. Though the headaches have gotten a bit better the last few days for sure, after I got out of the hospital I was still incredibly sick. Ibe wouldn’t let me near the darkroom in fear I would ruin the developer or something.” Eiji smiled back to Ash, giving him a knowing look. 

 

Cocking his head to the side, Shorter looked to Eiji with concern, “You too huh? I was wondering if you were having trouble, especially after what Max and Griff told us.”

 

“Max and Griff?” Eiji asked softly.

 

“I will explain later.” Ash said, giving Eiji a shy smile.

 

Eiji nodded and Ash felt him squeezing at their joined hands, “It has been better, like, I’m able to keep most food and water now, and I seem to be sleeping sounder. The first few nights were pretty rough, poor Ibe didn’t know what was going on. He has been pleased to see that I don’t look like I’m dying on him anymore.”

 

“Yeah. It’s been, really harsh for me. The only time I really feel any better is when I am with you. Leaving you behind here makes me want to throw up, or it feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest still. It’s not as bad, but, it’s still hell,” Ash realized they had made the last turn and were walking towards one of the bunks, “Thankfully, even though his cooking leave something to be desires, Shorter has been there for me since my brother is working.”

 

Arriving just outside the door of the bunkhouse that Eiji was currently calling home he opened the door and invited the two other boys in with a sad smile, “It’s...well you will see. Things are not the best, but we make due with what we have.”

 

This was the first time for Ash, and he was pretty sure Shorter as well, to be inside one of the hastily built barracks that the internees called home. His stomach was twisting in disgusted knots with what he saw.

 

Inside it was a single room, with a cast iron stove in the corner for the cold months. 8 single iron beds lining one end, and a sitting area had been created with a couple couches and a rocking chair near the stove. A few paper partitions help give a decorative separation of space. Beautiful scrolls, pictures, and even a few random silk kimono hung from the walls, possibly attempting to bring a bit of color to the drab tones of the bunk.

 

Making his way through the bunkhouse, Eiji gave the other two a smile edged with a hint of pain, “It’s not much, but it is home, for now.”

 

Ash watched as he quickly opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out another canister of film, placing the used one in a box of about four others. A questioning look caused his brows to furrow before he asked, “Are you documenting everything here?”

 

Eiji shrugged, “Yes and no. I am helping Ibe with photography for the camp gazette, and I want a personal record of our time here, for myself and for future generations to see.”

 

Reaching out to take Eiji’s hand again, Ash smiled as reassuringly as possible, “It’s temporary, it has to be.” Their fingers tangled together again, this time both of them moving closer of their own volition as their foreheads bumped together gently. 

 

“I will get you out of here, Eiji.” Ash said in a whisper of breath before he brought his lips to brush against Eiji’s. 

 

Their lips met and a gentle spark of electricity crackled between them at the tender contact. It wasn’t a passionate kiss by any means, but it was just enough to give them a moment of intimacy that they both needed. Ash felt Eiji sigh against him as he rested their foreheads against together. Of course, the moment didn’t last long, broken by Shorter being an ass. 

 

“Talk about some emotional whiplash,” Shorter snorted behind them, “one minute you two are awkward as hell, and then next being all..” he waved his hands in their general direction, “...this...whatever this is!”

 

Ash felt Eiji laugh softly before Ash kissed his forehead and giving a long suffering sigh, “I swear Shorter, I’m going to leave your ass at home next time.”

 

“Nah, Your brother would kick both our asses!” 

 

Eiji, laughing at the two, tugged at Ash’s hand, “Let’s get out of here. I can stop at the cafeteria and grab us a couple bentos.”

 

“Sounds like a plan! I am always up for food!” Shorter was grinning now as he held open the door back outside, and Ash snorted at him. 

 

“Food is like, the first thing on your mind most of the time. Not much room in there for much else!” 

 

“Asshole!” Shorter laughed as Ash dodged a playful punch. Eiji couldn’t help laughing at their antics as the three exited. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash brings the boys to a secret location...Shorter realizes he, too, is wrapped around Eiji’s finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter! Sorry for the day late update. I’ve been really sick, plus the holidays have me busy. On that note, I will be taking a break till the first week of January on posting! If any of us survive our deaths next week that is...this is our punishment for getting everything we wanted in Yuri on Ice. Bastards...

 

Chapter 5

* * *

 

The trio set out towards the south side of the complex, Eiji holding the three recently acquired bento boxes from the canteen tied in a cloth. The farther they got from the center of camp and the barracks, the less people were milling about. Most of the camp seemed keen to not spend much time this far out against the fences, and it was fairly removed, making it a perfect place for Ash and the other two to have a bit of privacy.

Distance from strangers ears wasn’t the only reason Ash was leading them this direction. There was a little secret Ash needed to let them in on, one that he knew would become an integral part of their possible future plans. He felt his stomach twisting, nervousness simmering just under the surface as his mind returned to bits and pieces of the conversation from last night. So many thoughts were swirling through his head that he didn’t notice the fingers tugging at the frayed hem of the pocket of his shorts.

“...Ash?” Eiji was looking up at Ash with a worried expression swimming in the depths of his amber eyes.

“Hmm? Oh-oh yeah, I’m fine,” Ash looked at Eiji, giving him a reassuring smile, “just have a lot on my mind at the moment. I brought you some books, by the way.”

“Oh? Which ones?” Eiji was smiling as Ash changed the subject smoothly.

“Oh my god, Eiji, seriously? You are as much of a nerd as this guy is!” Shorter laughed shaking his head.

Ignoring Shorter’s smart ass comment, Ash continued to lead them towards a large outcropping of rocks along the fence line, a scraggly looking tree growing from the center, “Yeah, I thought…maybe it is stupid, but I wanted to share something with you that has meaning to me. I know you have an entire library of books you can read, but-“

Eiji dropped Ash’s hand and quickly slapped his own over Ash’s mouth to quiet him, “Ash, stop,” dropping his hand he lifted up on his toes and brushed a fleeting kiss to the tip of Ash’s nose, “It means a lot to me. Maybe it will help with the ache I feel when we are apart.”

There was a snort of laughter that erupted from Shorter who watched the scene unfold, Ash was pretty sure that Shorter was keeping track of all the awkward moments to use as blackmail later on. All he could do was glare daggers at his supposed best friend, which was negated by the, surely bright, red blush on his cheeks. Eiji really needed to stop being so goddamn cute, at least around Shorter, the guy really didn’t need any more ammunition against Ash.

“Fucking nerds, I swe-OUCH! What the fuck was that for!?” Shorter was rubbing at his now stinging shoulder, pouting spectacularly.

Smirking, Ash rubbed his own tingling palm against his shorts, trying to get normal feeling back after the masterfully delivered slap to Shorter’s arm, “At least I can count on Eiji for conversation that includes more thinking and less excited yapping over the latest comic books!”

A light bubble of laughter came from Eiji’s direction, and Ash suddenly found himself looking dumbstruck at the sound, even Shorter had stopped in his tracks and gone speechless.

“I swear, you two are like brothers! Don’t worry Shorter, I like comics too.” Eiji’s smile was blinding and Ash had to turn before he blushed even brighter (if that was possible) at the sight.

How was it possible that Eiji could be this fucking adorable? Did he not know the power he held over Ash, and apparently, Shorter as well? Ash realized he was so, so, incredibly fucked.

Mumbling in an attempt to regain some composure, Ash nodded towards the rocks, “Almost there.”

A few more verbal jabs, playful laughter, and teasing banter later, Ash was standing next to a rock lined, pathetic excuse of a, tree next to the exterior fence. Letting go of Eiji’s hand he nimbly moved up on the pile of rocks, precariously perching atop one near the top ledge and offering a hand down to Eiji.

“Jesus Ash, where you a mountain goat in one of your past lives by any chance?!” Shorter was trying, and failing, to make his way up the rocks, a few smaller pebbles slipping out from under his shoes. He looked like he was trying to skate on ice as the loose gravel and dirt caused him to shuffle and slide to his ass after a few steps.

Ash was grinning as he helped Eiji up the slope of the rocks, “If you weren’t such a dick I might help you up!”

“Fuck you, it’s in my job description!” Shorter mumbled, standing gingerly to dust off the back of his shorts.

Once Eiji was safely beside him, Ash reached out and gave Shorter a helping hand the last few steps before jumping down in the center.

A craggy looking oak tree was growing out of the center, its limbs twisting up at odd angles. Dried leaves where sparsely hanging from shriveled looking twig like branches, the graying brown foliage looking like it could go up in flames with the smallest spark. The bark of the tree wasn’t much better looking, resembling desert dried bones and sharp edges.

Ash pressed his hand to the trunk and looked at the other two, “Don’t tell anyone, but there is a little secret that I want to share with you about this place.”

Stepping around the side of the tree, Ash crouched down and motioned the other two to look as he crawled in to a shallow cave created by a slight overhang of rocks. It wasn’t very deep but, as he shimmied in further, he pushed a few rocks out of the way, exposing an opening to the other side of the fence. Out of the camp.

“Oh my fucking god, Ash, this is amazing!” Shorter exclaimed, crouched down beside an equally dumbfounded Eiji peering into the small cavern.

“It was a coyote den. Remember a few months back, when they ransacked one of the henhouses? Griffin volunteered me to fix it.” Ash was grinning proudly at this point, and pulled the rocks back in to place to keep the coyotes out, he really did not want there to be an incident involving unwanted critters sneaking in here, then they might actually fix it

Eiji reached down and helped Ash stand as he came out of the little den, “Do I even need to ask why you decided to show us this little gem?” There was a mischievous gleam in Eiji’s eyes that Ash couldn’t miss.

“Let’s talk over our lunches? There is a bit more too it….but-“

“We are busting your ass out of here!” Shorter jumped in, the excitement clear in his, very loud, voice.

“Seriously Shorter…could you be much louder? I’m not sure the guards quite heard you clear enough,” Ash pinched his nose with a long suffering sigh before he plopped down at the base of the tree trunk, Eiji following suit.

Dropping the cloth wrapped lunch boxes on the dirt, Eiji froze as his eyes went comically wide, Shorter’s revelation just now sinking in. His jaw had dropped open, then snapped shut, and opened again, making Ash laugh with a light snort, “You look like a fish when you do that.”

Shifting his gaze from the dropped bento to Ash, then to Shorter, and back to Ash, Eiji snapped his jaw shut with a gulp, “Ex-excuse me? What? How? I…I…” he stammered, his voice about half an octave higher.

Shorter had taken it upon himself to start setting out lunch, opening the boxes and separating chopsticks for each of the boys, murmuring to Ash “Tag, you’re it.”

Groaning, Ash reached out to Eiji and brushed his hand against Eiji’s face, giving him a warm, reassuring smile, “Look at me,” he said softly, more of a request than a command, “I found out that my brother and his friend…boyfriend… are soul mates Eiji. My brother and Max, they are like us.”

Eiji was leaning in to the palm at his face, gaze locking on Ash’s. Ash could see the information sinking in to Eiji’s brain as his expression went from sheer surprise, to confusion, then a shift to realization and understanding.

Ash pulled his hand back and shrugged the knapsack from his shoulders as he started speaking, “Apparently Griffin, my brother, and Max found each other back in basic or some shit when we still lived on the east coast. He was afraid to tell me, not sure if I would believe him or not about the ‘soulmate’ stuff, or was afraid I would be disappointed my brother was, as he put it, ‘a queer’.”

Already digging into the food, Shorter nodded, his mouth full of food and a few bits of rice sticking to his cheek, “It’s fucking crazy! Both of us were totally shocked!” pausing long enough to toss a bit of the curried chicken in to his mouth, Shorter let out an almost pornographic moan, “Holy tits Eiji! This curry is fucking amazing!”

Taking up his own chopsticks, and watching Eiji follow suit as he slowly broke out of his stupor, Ash rolled his eyes, “I swear to god, Shorter, you are disgusting. Your poor mother, have you no manners?!”

“Amf Ah groshin’ ewe oat?” Shorter was grinning around a mouthful of rice and chicken. His antics were helpful in easing the nervous energy that had enveloped the trio since Shorter blurted out the escape idea.

 

“Oh dear God.” Ash turned his attention to Eiji as he took the first bite of his own curry chicken. There was a sudden explosion of flavor across his tongue and his eyes went wide. His stomach was loudly growling and he was no longer questioning as to why Shorter wanted to shovel the food into his gullet as fast as possible. It was possibly the most amazing curry Ash had ever tasted, even better than Shorter’s mom’s recipe, which was saying something.

Swallowing his own mouthful, Eiji poked Ash’s cheek with his chopstick, “You ok there Ash? Need some water?”

Shaking his head, Ash mumbled before shoving more in his mouth, “Oh my fucking god Eiji, this is the best curry I have ever eaten, and don’t let that get back to Shorter’s mom!”  

“I need the recipe!” Shorter exclaimed, shoveling the last bit of vegetables and rice in his mouth.

Eiji was laughing softly between bites as Ash shook his head frantically, “No…don’t do it…Shorter can burn water!”

Looking as offended as he possibly could muster, Shorter dramatically cried out, “Fuck you! I am the future of that place!”

“It’s doomed.” Ash deadpanned before he was completely distracted by the gleeful laughter coming from Eiji beside him.

Ash quickly took a deep drink from his canteen in an attempt to pull himself together; Eiji was seriously going to cause him to turn a permanent shade of sun-burnt red.

“So,” Shorter started after swallowing his own drink of water, an obvious attempt at distraction from the power of Eiji’s laugh, “Now that we know about this little gem, we need to let Max and Griff in on the secret.”

The sound of Eiji clearing his throat as he glanced between the other two made Ash’s stomach suddenly knot up. He could see that Eiji was clearly trying to put thoughts into words, questions more than likely bouncing inside his head.

It was a moment before Eiji finally spoke, his eyes landing on Ash’s, “It has to be so rare that your brother and Max are like us. It makes me wish there was more known about this phenomenon, you know? Who gets to comeback? What the purpose is? How many lifetimes have we lived together? Stuff like that. And-“

“Eiji,” Ash’s voice was soothing, he could feel the confusion rising in Eiji, “What matters is, at this point, that we have each other, we have a lifetime to figure out the rest right? The first thing we need to do is to get this fence out of the way.”

Nodding slowly, Eiji let out a breath as he leaned back to look up at the sky between the twisted branches of the tree, “A lifetime,” he murmured.

Shorter patted Eiji on the shoulder, smiling at him, “Hey, you have a lifetime of putting up with Ash, AND me! It’s a package deal!!” He gave Eiji a crooked grin as he peered over the rim of his sunglasses, “We just gotta get this little roadblock out of the way first, and then it’s smooth sailing from here!”

Groaning, Ash looked at his friend with a teasing smirk, “Don’t scare him off Shorter, I just got him. I’ve put up with your ass for 3 years, not sure how excited he will be for the ‘lifetime’ aspect of this equation.”

Ash watched as Eiji looked up to Shorter with his big brown eyes, giving him a reassuring smile, “Thanks, it’s just a lot to take in. A month ago I was packing up my life, being processed through a military center and loaded on a bus in a land that is not my home, to a place I had never heard of. For something I didn’t do. I had to give up everything that didn’t fit into two suitcases and a camera bag, to come to a desolate desert wasteland, every dream I had in San Fran tossed out the window with each mile further and further from the salty air. That day..that day I arrived I thought my life was over. But now, now I know it is just really starting.”

The pain in Eiji’s voice was raw. It made bile rise up in the back of Ash’s throat as he listened while Eiji poured out his heart to Shorter. The anger at the situation rose inside of him, how was this fucking fair to any of these people? He never realized how much it must have cost each of them to be forced here, to be relocated to this pathetic landscape of brown and gray.

He felt a hand touch his own, his fist having balled up without him knowing it, “Ash, look at me,” Eiji was leaning forward now, his own fingers covering Ash’s, “I hate it. Everything that has been done to me, to the people I know and love. But, everything happens for a reason right? All of this had to happen for us to come together again, right? This place is the end of that life, I have to let go of the anger I feel, the disappointment, because none of that really matters now.”

Why did he have to be right? The one who should be the most upset about the entire situation was the one who was making the most sense. Blinking, Ash gave Eiji a small smile as he nodded, a meek attempt at agreement.

“Hey, so, uh…I think I am going to get going,” Shorter was standing with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, try to not look awkward, “I need to go get more stuff from my mom’s before we head back to the barrack. Meet me back at the gates in an hour Ash? Griff will get worried if you are out in this heat too long.”

Rolling his eyes, Ash nodded, “Yeah, yeah. An hour.”

“Let me take the bento back to the canteen Eiji, that way you don’t have to worry about it.” Shorter offered.

Nodding, Eiji packed the empty boxes up quick and tied them in their cloth before handing them up to Shorter with a soft smile, “Thank you Shorter.”

That’s when it hit Ash full force, the true power of Eiji.

Shorter. Was blushing.

The look on his face said it all. He may not have known Eiji for long, but it was quite apparent that Shorter had taken too him…and he was pretty much screwed. Ash smirked. Oh this was going to provide some incredible ammunition for tormenting his best friend later on.

Ash couldn’t help but laugh as Shorter took the proffered lunch boxes and try not to trip over himself as he scrambled up the wall of rocks. He glanced back over his shoulder at Ash, cheeks still red, before jumping down and disappearing back towards the camp proper.

 

“I think you broke him.” Ash snorted.

“Huh?” The look on Eiji’s face was priceless. The confusion was evident, and Ash couldn’t help but shake his head as he laughed. Nope, Eiji had NO idea the power he possessed.

“So this plan,” Ash tried to change the subject as he looked back to Eiji.

Without warning, Ash found himself with a lapful of soulmate; all shyness thrown right out of the window as Eiji sought Ash’s lips with his own.

Ash was quick to respond, he would have been lying to himself if he hadn’t been fighting the urge to kiss Eiji like this, even if the worry and nerves had been buzzing under his skin all day.

Giving in to the want, Ash was quick to wrap his arms around Eiji’s as their lips sought each other out. Electricity was singing between them as Ash felt Eiji fist his hands in to the back of his shirt. Eiji’s teeth grazed Ash’s lower lip and Ash took advantage to slip his tongue inside. Licking into Eiji’s mouth, Ash felt himself groan with an almost embarrassing sound, his lungs burning for air, but hating the thought of having to part.

Eiji was the one to break away first, his cheeks perfectly blushed crimson and lips swollen. Ash ran his finger tips over the subtle bumps and grooves of Eiji’s spine as he pressed his forehead into Eiji’s chest, feeling completely overwhelmed. The surge of emotion was almost too much for him, yet it felt like a key had slid in and opened up a lock.

Years of memories swam through his mind, racing through his brain in a flood. Everything from London was coming back to him in waves. The first time he saw Eiji, the memories of falling in love again, the first time they made love and the last time they kissed.

Ash felt himself seize, muscles locking tight, “It was me…I died too soon…” his voice was quivering, and he felt Eiji wipe the pads of his thumbs across tear streaked cheeks, “I’m sorry. Eiji…I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

“Shh…Ash…it’s ok….” Eiji was pressing his lips to Ash’s cheeks, kissing away the tears, Ash still not even sure when he started crying.

“I left you.” There was a raw pain in his voice and Ash could feel the terrible pain burning in the center of his chest. The memory of his death was not fully formed, and he honestly prayed it never would come to full fruition, knowing he had left Eiji only months after finding him was pain enough.

“Look at me,” Eiji murmured and Ash followed his command to wordlessly lift his eyes to meet Eiji’s. There were tears slipping over the softness of Eiji’s cheeks, and Ash felt his heart breaking even further in his chest, shards of it being ground into powder, “I already spent a lifetime mourning you Ash. I refuse to spend another crying over something we can’t change.”

“Why do you have to make so much sense? How can you be so calm about all of this fucking insanity?” Ash chuckled softly before pressing kiss swollen lips to the palm of one of Eiji’s hands, “We can’t change the past, but, what we can change is getting you out of here.”

Eiji was smiling down and nodded, “And, from what I understand, that plan is already in motion, so, spill it!”

Ash felt Eiji shift to move off of his lap. After the emotional flood of memories, Ash wanted as little distance between the two of them as possible, but with this heat, it was just completely impossible. Giving Eiji’s middle a tight squeeze, Ash reluctantly let him free before grabbing a canteen and taking a large swig of water and diving into the basics of the plan.

His stomach felt like it was twisting in knots as he explained what they had come up with last night, and how he, Shorter and Eiji would go from here to New York. Ash studied Eiji’s face as he talked, watching as the idea started to sink in.

“Once we get you out of here, we will have to wait a few weeks to be able for the three of us to fly back to New York on a supply run with Max. I have a feeling the place will tighten up on the security once they realize you are not here, and we will make sure they can’t find you while we wait for the dust to settle.”

Nodding, Eiji chewed at his lower lip, “How do you plan on keeping me hidden? It’s not like I can go back to the barracks with you.”

Ash grinned again, quite pleased with himself, “Well, I have another little bit of information I haven’t shared with anyone else yet. I wanted to get your feelings on the break out before I started to worry about the details,” Ash paused a moment and nodded his head towards the fence, “I have a place that I go and get away from everyone. It was a rancher’s outbuilding at one point I think. I go there to hide from Shorter, or read when I want to be alone, it doesn’t have any running water, but there is a stream right by it, but we would have to stock it up with food.”

Watching Eiji’s eyes light up made Ash’s heart flutter in his chest, “It’s off the beaten path and about a half mile or so east. Hard to find honestly, because it’s hidden in a bunch of oak and cottonwood trees, and in all the time I’ve used it, I have never found anyone else there.”

“Are you sure I would be safe there? You said it could take a month or longer before we could get out of here.” There was an edge of nervousness and concern to Eiji’s voice, but a hopefulness was alight in his eyes.

“Trust me,” Standing up, Ash offered his hand out to Eiji to help him up, “I won’t let anything happen to you, to us.”

Taking his hand, Eiji stood and wrapped his arms around Ash’s neck, pulling him down for a quick kiss, “I do trust you. Completely. Will I be able to see it before the big break?”

Ash returned the kiss before Eiji let him go and crouched to get his backpack. Swinging it over his shoulder, he shrugged, “I don’t know if getting you out of here before then would be a good idea. But, I plan on coming back here to make sure we time the guard’s change just right. And..” Ash could feel himself turning a lovely shade of pink again, averting his gaze, “I wa-I was thinking that maybe I could come here-you could meet me here, at night. Alone.”

A little squeak escaped Eiji and Ash returned his gaze in time to see a bright crimson dust over Eiji’s cheeks, “Wait! I-uh- well, I mean, if you want too! I don’t um, Just to be close to you!”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Ash knew he looked as awkward as he felt, but Eiji started to giggle.

“I would love nothing more, to get to spend the night with you. But it gets ridiculously cold out here at night!” Eiji was smiling at Ash with one of his biggest grins, making him look even younger than he already appeared. (Really, Eiji held such a super power over Ash that it wasn’t fair.)

His own awkwardness ebbed as Ash glanced towards the hidden exit of the camp, a night with Eiji, alone. He took a step towards the bank of rocks that they needed to crawl over and offered Eiji his hand again,  “We can sneak some blankets out here so we are warm. We have to figure out all the guard changing habits before we can sneak you out. I will watch from the other side for a few nights.”

Eiji took Ash’s hand and was helped up the precarious pathway of rocks and back down. Ash wove their finger together as they walked back towards the camp proper, keeping his voice low just in case anyone decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Maybe I will get a decent bit of sleep being near you. What has it been like for you?” Ash asked as he gave Eiji’s hand a soft squeeze.

“Well,” Eiji hummed to himself before continuing, “It’s not been easy. That’s for sure.”

They were getting closer to the barracks as Eiji continued talking, Ash quietly listening, “When you leave is the hardest for me. Watching you go hurts, like my soul is being pulled apart. I don’t think the dreams have been as bad for me, though, I have been woken up by Ibe because I had been screaming or crying out for you once or twice near the beginning,” Eiji averted his gaze at this revelation, but Ash didn’t want to push as to what those dreams where about, “I haven’t told Ibe the entire truth yet. He is like a father to me, but, it’s a lot.”

As they stepped through the doorway of the barrack, Eiji squeezed Ash’s hand, trying to reassure him, “It seems to be getting better though, the more time we are together.”

Nodding, Ash slung off the backpack and sat down on the couch, “I noticed too. Things are not as intense the more time we are together, but it is still hell for me to be apart from you. I was worried that one of these mornings Griffin was going to make me stay back, but now that he knows the entire situation, and has experienced it, I don’t think he would keep me from you.”

The bag was opened and Ash extracted three books from within as Eiji sat down next to him, “Soon, we won’t have to worry about being apart,” Eiji reached over and took the first book into his hand, running fingers over the cover, “What did you bring me?”

“Three of my favorites, that I thought you might enjoy, too. I know it’s silly, but, maybe it will make our times apart easier to have a piece of me near,” nodding at the book in Eiji’s hand, Ash continued, “That one is Hemmingway’s ‘Snows of Killimanjaro’, I brought another one of his too, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. And the really beat up one is T.S Elliot’s ‘Waste Land’. Not exactly the normal reading material for my age, and I’m sure you and Shorter can swap comics and crap if you get bored with this stuff.”

Laughing, Eiji stood up and took the books from Ash with a sweet smile, “I enjoy books like this too, Ash, thank you.”

Ash watched as Eiji slip off to take the books to his bed and saw him grab something off the comforter. Standing, Ash felt something akin to a warm blanket settle over him as Eiji came back, a small stuffed bunny in hand.

“What’s that for?” He asked, watching Eiji nervously fidget with the worn brown ears.

Awkward Eiji was just as deadly as smiling or laughing Eiji, Ash realized in that moment. He was chewing at his lower lip, twisting his fingers around the bunny’s ears and keeping his gaze averted. Eiji really had no idea how incredibly adorable he was in this moment, and Ash couldn’t help but reach out and touch the rabbit currently being strangled in Eiji’s hands.

“You’re going to twist its ears off if you keep that up.” Ash said as he let his fingers pet the worn, well loved fur of the stuffed animal.

“This is Usako, she was my sisters stuffed bunny. I found it right before I left Japan to come here and brought her with me. I tho-I thought maybe, you might hold on to her for me? Maybe she will help you sleep better too.” Eiji was looking up at Ash with his big amber eyes hinting at sadness. Ash wanted to ask what happened, but not now.

He gently smiled and took the bunny from Eiji’s hands as he murmured, “Thank you.”

Ash bent down, the height difference one of his favorite things about Eiji, and brought their lips together. Eiji pressed himself as close to Ash’s body as he could and wove his arms around Ash’s neck, moaning softly into the gentle kiss. Their lips moved together, Eiji darting his tongue out to flick against Ash’s as their mouths parted to deepen the kiss. Nothing in the world existed when they were like this.

“Hey, Ei-chan, I nee-“ the mood was suddenly broken as the door to the barrack flew open and an older Japanese man stepped inside.

The two boys jumped apart from each other, lips kiss swollen and red. It was very obvious that it had been more than just a hug between friends. 

 

“Oh! Ye-yes Ibe-san! My..my film! I was just getting ready to head to the dark room since Ash was leaving!” Eiji was adorably flustered and starting to shift nervously from one foot to the other, just as unsure as to what to do as Ash was in the moment.

 

Ash felt his heart hammering in his chest, suddenly feeling very nervous and very unsure of what to do now. He had just got caught with his tongue down another boys throat, by said boy’s psudo-father; great way to meet the parent.

 

This was a good exit point, in Ash’s mind, and he started to head towards the door, not meeting Ibe’s eyes, “Uh, Yeah. I will-uh- later Eiji!” he said lamely while exiting and taking off in to a jog towards the gates to meet up with Shorter.

‘That could not have gone any worse,’ Ash thought to himself as he clutched the bunny in his hands. Being the mature young adult that he was, instead of facing Ibe and introducing himself properly, he was doing what he always did when dealing with seriously uncomfortable situations: run away.

He couldn’t get his heart to calm down or the knot in his stomach to untie, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was leaving Eiji behind again, or if it was because he had just gotten his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar. Eiji being the cookie. Well, it could have been worse, Ash was at least thankful it was just a kiss and not something else being interrupted by Ibe. (Ash really needed to get his mind out of the gutter.)

Scolding himself as he ran off, Ash groaned, “Great first impression dumb ass.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
